Tesla’s Supercharging network is the best in the business, offering 63 locations and a stunning 99.95 uptime globally. Today, the company opened more locations to non-Tesla EVs across VIC, NSW, QLD, WA and SA.
Following on from the popular non-Tesla Pilot Program where five sites in New South Wales were opened to non-Tesla EVs, Tesla is now welcoming drivers to 30 of the 63 Tesla Supercharger sites nationwide.
This move may be challenging for Tesla owners, particularly those who’ve waited at peak times to charge. This shouldn’t be a surprise for those paying attention to Tesla’s mission, as it encourages more drivers to go electric.
The theory goes that Tesla will take the revenue earned from off-brand EVs and use that to grow the charging infrastructure, so this should be a net win for Tesla owners.
While Tesla has made similar moves internationally, the switch to open Superchargers to other EVs in Australia is actually the easiest in the world. There are no adapters necessary, with the CCS2 charging standard prolific in EVs (save a few Nissan Leafs).
This means that from today, if you have a Polestar 2, a BYD Atto 3 or any of the other competing EVs, you can pull up to any of the supported Supercharger locations and start charging.
How to charge a non-tesla at a Supercharger
The steps to get started are:
- Download the Tesla app
- Sign up for an account
- Set a payment method (credit card)
- Select the ‘Charge your non-Tesla’ (may need to scroll right).
- From the map, select a Supercharging locations indicated by the red Tesla logo (more are planned)
- Connect the charging cable to your car
- Select select the charger number (i.e. 3B) and start charging.
Tesla hasn’t explicitly said why they haven’t enabled non-Tesla’s to charge at all Supercharging locations, but I suspect it’s due to demand thresholds at peak locations. Somewhere like Wodonga, a common route between Melbourne and Canberra or Melbourne and Sydney is not listed.
The cost to charge at a Supercharger for non-Tesla owners is a premium of A$0.78/kWh. This is compares to something like 60c/kWh at Chargefox ultrafast locations. If you plan on charging regularly on Tesla’s chargers, then you can opt for a A$9.99 per month subscription, which then lowers the cost to what Tesla owners pay, A$0.63c/kWh.
Non-Tesla Electric Vehicles can charge at Superchargers in the following locations:
- ACT – Tuggeranong
- Berry, NSW
- Blaxland, NSW
- Bendigo, VIC
- Box Hill, VIC
- Cann River, VIC
- Colac, VIC
- Clare, SA
- Dubbo, NSW
- Geelong, VIC
- Gympie, QLD
- Hollydene, NSW
- Knockrow, NSW
- Margaret River, WA
- Moe, VIC
- Mornington, VIC
- Narooma, NSW
- Rochedale, QLD
- Shepparton, VIC
- Tamworth, NSW
- Tenterfield, NSW
- Toowoomba, QLD
- Warrnambool, VIC
- Williams, WA
- Wollongong, NSW
Given the varied charging port locations on off-brand EVs, the relatively short charging cables may present a challenge.
