Over the last few months, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding public charging infrastructure, and the possibility of Tesla opening up its Supercharger network to other EVs. As charging demand grows, onboarding non-Tesla vehicles onto Tesla’s expansive charging net-work would, understandably, help to offset the demand on other charging networks and enhance driver convenience. In Netherlands, Tesla is finally making that a reality by expanding access to its Supercharger network to all EVs at all stations.
This announcement is especially exciting when we consider the proposed expansion of the Supercharger network. Last year, Tesla announced that it would triple the size of the Supercharger network within two years and, with this new pilot program, the automaker could become one of the biggest EV fast-charging networks providers in the world.
Read more: Tesla updates its Supercharger map with upcoming stations
Back in November, Tesla first launched the Netherlands pilot program, which included 10 Supercharger stations. Now, Tesla is expanding this program to stations in Norway and France, as well as all stations in the Netherlands. This expansion will include all 36 Supercharger stations across the country, and will require a gradual testing process to ensure user experience isn’t compromised due to increased traffic.
In order to access the network, non-Tesla drivers simply need to download the Tesla app and charge their vehicle via a CCS connector. With the revenue gained from this expansion, Tesla will presumably be able to accelerate the continued expansion of the network. Tesla also plans to run this pilot program in North America; however, the transition will be more complicated as Tesla uses its “own proprietary plug instead of the CCS standard” here. With this in mind, non-Tesla EV drivers would need an adapter the use the existing Supercharger stations.
