On January 31, 2022, at 2 p.m., Tesla opened 16 French Supercharger fast charging stations to models from other brands. This experiment, already initiated in the Netherlands, appears to be a real revolution in the world of electric cars. Until now, the American brand’s network was reserved for the brand’s customers, and was a major asset. With the launch of the Model 3 in 2019, Tesla took a first step by adopting a CCS connector, a type of cable corresponding to the European standard. He … not all that remained was to unlock the software part to allow free access to the Superchargers to customers of other brands.
It was with a Skoda Enyaq that we went to experiment with this new service, at the Supercharger in Vélizy, near Paris. On our arrival, several Tesla and models of other brands are already installed. Corn Tesla has planned wide: with sixteen charging points thereplaces are still plentiful. We had previously created an account on the Tesla application. The Tesla terminals being devoid of screen and RFID sensor, going through a smartphone is indeed the only solution to charge. Once in front of the terminal, you must select your number on the application, then enter your bank details. The ergonomics are simple, but the process tedious: delays have caused the operation to jump twice, which then requires entering all the information again. The charge starts, but the operation is obviously slower than with a Tesla, directly recognized by the infrastructure.
A charge at the power expected at Tesla
Once the operation is done, everything goes smoothly. The power delivered does not call for criticism: we noted a maximum of 95 kW, faithful to the load curve that we had already measured for this modelto the percentages at which we had carried out the charge. There was no communication problem between the car and the terminal. Admittedly, the Volkswagen Group’s electrics are not the most capricious in this area. But the presence at the same time of a Peugeot e-208, a Kia e-Niro and a Ford Mustang Mach-E suggests good reliability. Added to this is the successful experience of a colleague with a BMW i4. In short, even for competing models, Superchargers seem to be a reliable solution. The price (in kWh) is similar to what is practiced on other charging networks: for a session of 40 minutes of shutdown, we recovered 52 kWh, which cost us €29.12.
Everything seems for the best in the brave new world with Tesla Superchargers? Not really though. Indeed, some owners of the brand’s cars take a dim view of the arrival of other models on “their” charging stations. Especially since if the software part is suitable for all models, this is not the case for the hardware. All Teslas have a charging hatch placed in the same place, at the rear left. This has enabled the manufacturer to optimize the location of its stations, with terminals placed in an optimal location. As a result, the cable is short. But Teslas are an exception. Many cars have their load hatch at the rear right (sidewalk), and this is the case of our Skoda Enyaq. That’s who therefore requires parking in a space that does not correspond to that assigned to the terminal used… And therefore monopolizes two places in the eyes of Tesla owners.
Friction with Tesla owners, due to unsuitable hardware
Despite a large number of places still available, this earned us the unkind criticism from a Model 3 ownerwhich occupied the time of its recharge to thus “welcome” all the owners of models of other brands. Although claiming to be in favor of opening up Superchargers to competition, the latter did not manage to accept that other cars being charged could use a location that did not correspond to that of the charging station, despite the technical constraint. “It’s like using a place for the disabled”, he assures… Quickly forgetting that the opening of Superchargers means possible access to all cars, and that owners of other brands also pay for the service, and even more expensive than Tesla owners! As revealed by the comments following a video from our colleagues at Automobile Propre, this hostile attitude is not isolated. Fortunately, it is not widespread. A few tens of minutes later, a very friendly taxi driver engages the discussion with us. Discovering the situation, he admits that it “risks creating friction on busy days”.
So from a connectivity and charging speed perspective, Tesla has got it right. Loading a model from another brand does not pose an insurmountable problem. Unfortunately, the material seems unsuitable, for lack of a long enough cable. Before opening its terminals to competition, Tesla should have ensured that it was possible to plug in any model without hindrance. It is clear that this is not the case. If, sometimes, we were forced to maneuver in a complex way on certain Ionity or Total stations, the situation on the Superchargers is unprecedented.
Certainly, Tesla can do nothing against the intolerant behavior of its customers who may view this new influx with a dim view. But correcting the length of the cables seems essential. This opening up to competition from Superchargers is still in the experimental stage and things have time to improve. Tesla has proven in the past that it knows how to evolve its terminals quickly, by equipping them in record time with a CCS connector at the launch of the Model 3. The same remains to be done here. Because the price per kWh is not given (0.60 € on average). It is therefore a top-of-the-range service, which makes it all the more inadmissible to be insulted by other customers, even though the equipment is unsuitable.