Tesla’s Supercharger network has more than 40,000 connectors globally, helping Tesla owners travel further in their EVs. If you’re buying an EV, understanding your options for fast charging when travelling is important and with Tesla having the largest network to date, this has helped many make the decision to buy Tesla vehicles over the competitors.
Until today, Tesla Superchargers in Australia were exclusively for Tesla vehicles, but we now join a growing list of countries where Tesla is opening up its network to other EV brands, a significant change for Australians looking to buy EVs. The list of counties where non-Tesla Supercharging is supported is as follows:
- Australia
- The Netherlands
- France
- Norway
- Germany
- UK
- Spain
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Austria
- Denmark
- Finland
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- Iceland
- Italy
If you own an EV with a CCS2 charging port, you may be excited by the announcement as you will be able to travel and recharge at more locations than those offered by 3rd party networks like Evie Networks, Chargefox and others.
It is important to know that not every Supercharger is supported right now, just a few select locations.
We’re starting with a select number of sites so that we can review the experience, monitor congestion and assess feedback before expanding. Future sites will only be opened to non-Tesla vehicles if there is available capacity.
How does it work?
If you don’t own a Tesla, but want to charge at one of the supported Supercharger locations, all you need to do is these steps:
- Download the Tesla app
- Signup for an account
- Configure a payment method
- Connect the Supercharger cable to your car
- Select the ‘Charge your Non-Tesla’ in the app
- Select the Post Number (the number in the circle at the bottom of the Supercharger)
- Start charging.
To stop charging, simply tap ‘Stop Charging’ in the app and remove the cable. The payment will be automatically drawn from your supply credit card.
Where does it work?
Right now the non-Tesla Supercharger locations include:
- Dubbo, NSW
- Bathurst, NSW
- Hollydene, NSW
- Tamworth, NSW
- Narooma, NSW.
It will be interesting to see if 3rd party brands add Tesla Supercharging locations to their in-vehicle navigation systems. I’m really hopeful that brands focus on delivering customer benefits and add them, rather than being petty because they’re a competitor.
What does it cost?
The cost of charging non-Tesla vehicles at a Tesla Supercharger changes if you Subscribe to Tesla charging or not.
If you become a member, it’ll cost you A$9.99 per month and you’ll get access to charging at the same price as Tesla owners – $0.66/ kWh. For non-members, you’ll pay a premium price of A$0.79/kWh which is more expensive than virtually all other 3rd party chargers.
Pricing for non-Tesla drivers reflects additional costs incurred to support charging a broad range of vehicles and adjustments to our sites to accommodate these vehicles. Rates vary by site, and you can view charging prices in the Tesla app. The per kWh price to charge can be lowered with a charging membership.
Idle fees still apply and are charged at A$1.00 per minute when you have the car connected once charging has been completed. Idle fees are typically charged when charging locations are busy, which serves as encouragement to move your vehicle so others can recharge.
Which Non-Tesla vehicles can charge?
Tesla retrofitted their Superchargers in Australia with the CCS2 connector, so if your car supports it, you should be able to charge at the locations above.
Certain Supercharger site layouts may not be suitable for some cars. Please do not obstruct other cars by parking over the lines if the cable cannot comfortably reach your car.
For Tesla owners, this may feel frustrating, to have your precious charging locations taken up by non-Tesla vehicles. If you see an alternative EV as the enemy, you’re really not seeing the bigger picture, Australia and the world need to transition away from our reliance on fossil fuels and if opening up Superchargers to other brands helps EV adoption, I’m all for it.
Tesla should be able to raise more charging revenue through additional charging sessions from non-Tesla charging sessions and invest that in building more chargers and servicing more locations, so ultimately Tesla owners should benefit in the long-term from this decision.
