JoeGiul
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Rivals largely still can’t use Tesla chargers due to delays
Rows of fast-charging plugs await electric vehicles March 11 at a Tesla Supercharger station in California. Tesla’s plug is becoming standard. Lauren Justice/The New York Times
By Jack Ewing The New York Times
Scarce and finicky public chargers are among the biggest reasons people hesitate to buy electric cars. So when Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, agreed last year to open the company’s well-regarded Supercharger network to vehicles from other carmakers, many drivers and industry experts celebrated the decision.
But more than 12 months later, Tesla’s network, with nearly 30,000 fast-charging plugs in the United States and Canada, remains largely inaccessible to most people who don’t drive Teslas. Why? Software delays and hardware shortages.
The delays have fueled speculation that Musk was having second thoughts about opening up Tesla’s network, possibly because he was worried that access would help other automakers sell battery-powered models and lure customers from Tesla, which has suffered from declining sales.
Tesla eased those fears a bit last week when the company’s charging unit posted on the social platform X that it had stepped up production of a crucial piece of hardware: adapters that drivers of Ford, Rivian and other car brands need to connect to Tesla chargers.
A Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York, is producing 8,000 of the adapters each week, the company said, noting that outside suppliers are also producing the part. Still, it is unclear how fast those adapters would reach electric vehicle owners.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, and the other automakers have been reluctant to speak in detail, apparently because they do not want to antagonize Tesla and Musk.
The slow rollout raises questions about the decision that almost all major carmakers operating in the United States made to abandon the Combined Charging System, the standard that most of them used previously, and adopt the North American Charging Standard developed by Tesla. The switch made them vulnerable to the whims of Musk, who frequently changes corporate strategy and tactics in ways that can surprise even his employees and supporters.
Tesla built the Supercharger network to encourage sales of its own vehicles. By opening up the network, Tesla can make money from drivers of other car brands, who pay per kilowatt-hour to charge. The electric car company also makes money from selling adapters to other automakers.
But Tesla risks alienating its own customers, who will lose exclusive access to the chargers.
Tesla’s opening up of its chargers to other automakers was meant to be a three-stage process.
First, Tesla and each automaker would update the software on Tesla’s chargers and the other company’s cars so they could work with each other. Second, Tesla would make and supply adapters to allow other cars to connect to its chargers. The final step is supposed to happen next year, when most automakers plan to start installing Tesla plugs on the new cars they assemble, eliminating the need for an adapter.
So far only two car companies have advanced past the first stage with Tesla — Ford Motor Co. and Rivian. General Motors had said it expected to complete the software coordination with Tesla this spring but now says it will happen later this year.
Other automakers are expected to follow GM.
Behind the scenes, technical experts from automakers and other interested parties have been working to adapt Tesla’s proprietary technology so it works flawlessly with other electric vehicles.
That process is often fraught, acknowledged Oleg Logvinov, chair of the Charging Interface Initiative North America, an industry group whose members include Ford and Tesla.
“Transition is painful,” Logvinov said. But once the problems are worked out, “it’s hugely beneficial because it leads to a much higher adoption rate.”
He noted that there had been competing technical standards in the early days of mobile phones, but sales took off after the industry whittled them down.
Rows of fast-charging plugs await electric vehicles March 11 at a Tesla Supercharger station in California. Tesla’s plug is becoming standard. Lauren Justice/The New York Times
By Jack Ewing The New York Times
Scarce and finicky public chargers are among the biggest reasons people hesitate to buy electric cars. So when Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, agreed last year to open the company’s well-regarded Supercharger network to vehicles from other carmakers, many drivers and industry experts celebrated the decision.
But more than 12 months later, Tesla’s network, with nearly 30,000 fast-charging plugs in the United States and Canada, remains largely inaccessible to most people who don’t drive Teslas. Why? Software delays and hardware shortages.
The delays have fueled speculation that Musk was having second thoughts about opening up Tesla’s network, possibly because he was worried that access would help other automakers sell battery-powered models and lure customers from Tesla, which has suffered from declining sales.
Tesla eased those fears a bit last week when the company’s charging unit posted on the social platform X that it had stepped up production of a crucial piece of hardware: adapters that drivers of Ford, Rivian and other car brands need to connect to Tesla chargers.
A Tesla factory in Buffalo, New York, is producing 8,000 of the adapters each week, the company said, noting that outside suppliers are also producing the part. Still, it is unclear how fast those adapters would reach electric vehicle owners.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, and the other automakers have been reluctant to speak in detail, apparently because they do not want to antagonize Tesla and Musk.
The slow rollout raises questions about the decision that almost all major carmakers operating in the United States made to abandon the Combined Charging System, the standard that most of them used previously, and adopt the North American Charging Standard developed by Tesla. The switch made them vulnerable to the whims of Musk, who frequently changes corporate strategy and tactics in ways that can surprise even his employees and supporters.
Tesla built the Supercharger network to encourage sales of its own vehicles. By opening up the network, Tesla can make money from drivers of other car brands, who pay per kilowatt-hour to charge. The electric car company also makes money from selling adapters to other automakers.
But Tesla risks alienating its own customers, who will lose exclusive access to the chargers.
Tesla’s opening up of its chargers to other automakers was meant to be a three-stage process.
First, Tesla and each automaker would update the software on Tesla’s chargers and the other company’s cars so they could work with each other. Second, Tesla would make and supply adapters to allow other cars to connect to its chargers. The final step is supposed to happen next year, when most automakers plan to start installing Tesla plugs on the new cars they assemble, eliminating the need for an adapter.
So far only two car companies have advanced past the first stage with Tesla — Ford Motor Co. and Rivian. General Motors had said it expected to complete the software coordination with Tesla this spring but now says it will happen later this year.
Other automakers are expected to follow GM.
Behind the scenes, technical experts from automakers and other interested parties have been working to adapt Tesla’s proprietary technology so it works flawlessly with other electric vehicles.
That process is often fraught, acknowledged Oleg Logvinov, chair of the Charging Interface Initiative North America, an industry group whose members include Ford and Tesla.
“Transition is painful,” Logvinov said. But once the problems are worked out, “it’s hugely beneficial because it leads to a much higher adoption rate.”
He noted that there had been competing technical standards in the early days of mobile phones, but sales took off after the industry whittled them down.
Sponsored
