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[Leak - Not Accurate] Tesla Launches Supercharger Membership for Non-Tesla Vehicles at $0.99/month

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Tesla supercharger membership


Tesla has launched Supercharger memberships, priced from $0.99 per month in the United States, according to @SawyerMerritt.
A screenshot of the Tesla app shows two plans available:
  • Pay Per Use: Pay as you go, access to Supercharger network
  • Membership: $0.99/month (USD), access to Supercharger network, lower price per kWh
Tesla says a separate membership is required for each Tesla account, with a limit of 5 Supercharger charging sessions per day for each membership.

Merritt was able to sign up for the non-Tesla vehicle Supercharging membership, despite not owning a non-Tesla EV in his account–and it worked.

The pricing at $0.99 USD per month seems low, when compared to other charging networks such as Electrify America at $4 USD per month, points out Merritt.

You can access the Membership section in the Tesla app, by tapping your profile photo, then selecting ‘Account’ and then ‘Charging’. This screen is not showing in Canada.

The non-Tesla Supercharger pilot launched back in November and currently is available in France, the Netherlands, Norway, UK, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. There is no mention of the United States yet on the FAQ website.

Back in July, the White House mentioned Tesla planned to open up its Supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles in the U.S., beginning in 2022. Non-Tesla EVs will require an adapter to charge their vehicles and this will likely be included at Superchargers.

 
Ridiculously low compared to to the Euro plans which run US$15+/mth.

But hard to see the value given it depends on what the cost of charging is for non-plan versus plan.
It does seem underpriced, I’m sure when they feel the timing is right there will be an adjustment.
Even without knowing charging costs the obvious value is access to a large, reliable network covering most of the interstates and growing.
 
From the Teslanorth link cited above:
Update August 16, 9:56pm PT: the Membership option has disappeared from the Tesla mobile app. Looks like it was launched by accident.
I checked my own Tesla app (Android version 4.11.2-1215) and could not find the option, either. (It's supposed to be under Account->Charging after hitting your profile image in the top-right corner.) I agree that it most likely went live prematurely.
 
I'm definitely looking forward to this. I am "between Teslas" at the moment and seriously considering a non-Tesla EV.

I logged on to the phone app with my existing Tesla account which has no products on it. On the main screen of the app there's a prominent entry for "Charge your Non-Tesla." When I tap on that I get a map with the message "No chargers for Non-Tesla within range." I'm in the DFW area in Texas.

I guess Tesla will have to retrofit the existing charging pedestals with dual cables, to support the CCS connector? I wonder what the time frame will be like for that. I assume they'd start with California, but considering the significant Tesla and SpaceX presence in Texas, maybe we'll see something here soonish.
 
I'm definitely looking forward to this. I am "between Teslas" at the moment and seriously considering a non-Tesla EV.

I logged on to the phone app with my existing Tesla account which has no products on it. On the main screen of the app there's a prominent entry for "Charge your Non-Tesla." When I tap on that I get a map with the message "No chargers for Non-Tesla within range." I'm in the DFW area in Texas.
Yeah, there are none in the US at this point. You have to pan on over to Europe and then tap "Search this Area" to see examples.

I guess Tesla will have to retrofit the existing charging pedestals with dual cables, to support the CCS connector? I wonder what the time frame will be like for that. I assume they'd start with California, but considering the significant Tesla and SpaceX presence in Texas, maybe we'll see something here soonish.
If that's the way they want to play it, sure. Or, they could provide a bolt-on adapter like EVgo has done in the other direction; or even an adapter on a chain (this is the least likely option). Or, and this is what I think they will do, is roll out CCS support only in new "V4" Superchargers. Existing Superchargers would remain Tesla-only.

No timeframe on this. There is a bit of a consensus (based on the White House press announcement) that we may see something by the end of the year. That seems reasonable, but I don't think it's set in stone.

I'd also wager that it's not going to be specifically focused on one particular geography, but rather most new Superchargers that go in after a certain date (excepting those that already had their equipment ordered and were just waiting on permits or utilities) will be "V4". Because California and other Tesla-dense areas see more Supercharger installs than other areas, it may in fact work out that those end up getting a lot more of the V4 stations, but only because that's the way Superchargers normally get added, not due to any specific focus on adding CCS capability.
 
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installing new, additional pedestals with a long CCS cable for the different EVs and an integral touchscreen or however Tesla is going to bill the CCS non-Tesla owners would be the least disruptive to the existing operation-
I’m afraid having TPC to CCS adapters there would immediately screw up the SuCs by bringing in other EVs nose first or sideways to reach the plug.
Plenty of gas stations have the diesel pumps on their own island, I think that’s the sensible direction for TPC and CCS cars to charge together.
 
and an integral touchscreen or however Tesla is going to bill the CCS non-Tesla owners
No touchscreen in the European trials they just use the Tesla app.

And the drawings release for v4 don't have a screen either. They do however allow for longer cables.
So in the US I think you'd just have a long CCS1 cables and a shorter TPC.

In Europe, just a long CCS2.
 
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. Get ready for slow AF charging Bolts, Niro, and BZ4X to clog up our chargers even more
Hopefully the premium rates of the superchargers discourage them.
Or alternatively Tesla could go to a $/min plus $/kWh model, that makes it more expensive for slower charging cars (and provides an extra incentive to depart once your own car starts slowing)
 
As if superchargers weren’t packed enough already.
Do we have stats on this?

Not saying that some Superchargers aren't packed. But how widespread is this?

I fear that we may be repeating this mantra so often that true or not, it's becoming an accepted truth.

I don't use Superchargers much (maybe 3-4 long distance trips per year), but I've been hearing this so much lately I was starting to get worried about my recent summer trip being plagued with lines at Superchargers.

What I found, though, was out of 8 Supercharger stops on the trip, there was a grand total of one Supercharger that was over half full (and to be fair, I think I was the 8th car at an 8-stall). At a 12-stall V3 site in Breezewood, PA (which is a hugely busy interchange for anyone that hasn't been there) there were only 3 of us charging (granted, there is a V2 site practically across the street, although this was not busy either).

I will say this though: last year on the same trip in our ID.4, we stopped at a 4-stall Electrify America site in Bedford, PA (one exit up the PA Turnpike--there isn't a CCS fastcharger in Breezewood yet), and there was a queue of 3 ahead of us, so there is demand in the area.

Again, I'm not saying that there aren't packed Superchargers, and maybe in some geographies this is very common. But I would like to be careful about propagating this as a universal truth unless there is some data to back it up. And if it is the truth (in some areas), let's also see how Tesla chooses to roll this out. Will they even open it up on high demand areas? Will it be all stalls at a site, or just a selected few?
 
I agree with you. I've supercharged 68 times so far at 41 different sites. I believe I've only been in a wait line once and it was at a broken supercharger that gave 10-20kW max power. I have been multiple times at V2 superchargers that were more than half full so we'd share power however.

From memory, there seems to be a problem in California, where Tesla sell the most vehicles and I believe there is the most EVs in general in USA. There are some hotspots, like Levis was here when there were no superchargers in Quebec City. They have since fixed that. It doesn't seem like it's a globally spread problem.
 
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I guess Tesla will have to retrofit the existing charging pedestals with dual cables, to support the CCS connector? I wonder what the time frame will be like for that. I assume they'd start with California, but considering the significant Tesla and SpaceX presence in Texas, maybe we'll see something here soonish.
I'm afraid I haven't saved any bookmarks, but I've seen reporting that Tesla is planning to come out with some sort of single-cable solution with its V4 Superchargers. These will have either a dual-headed plug or a Tesla plug with a built-in adapter. The reporting I've seen is pretty vague, so I take it with a grain of salt, but in the absence of reporting or official announcements to the contrary, I'd expect this to be the way it'll go.
I'd also wager that it's not going to be specifically focused on one particular geography, but rather most new Superchargers that go in after a certain date (excepting those that already had their equipment ordered and were just waiting on permits or utilities) will be "V4".
That'd be my guess, too, but that's only a guess: Initially, new Superchargers will be dual-mode (CCS1 and Tesla) and old ones will remain Tesla-only. I'd expect they'll retrofit older ones eventually, but the timeframe on that is even less certain than the timeframe on bringing out CCS1 support in any form. The V4 pedestal is supposed to be taller than the V2/V3 pedestal, and should support a longer cable. Precisely how long I can't say, and I expect there will be issues supporting some vehicles, depending on where their charge ports are located. I'm not really all that concerned about this issue; Teslas are currently the most common EVs in North America, and non-Teslas can charge elsewhere, so it's unlikely that demand at Superchargers will go up by more than 10% or 20%, at a guess -- and that only at Superchargers where Tesla chooses to install CCS support.
Do we have stats on this?

Not saying that some Superchargers aren't packed. But how widespread is this?
I've seen various usage stats, but I don't have links to them, and the statistics I've seen don't really address the question of how often people have to wait for Supercharger access. Anecdotally, it seems to be more common in certain parts of California, like in the Los Angeles area, than elsewhere.

My own personal experience is that, in almost 3.5 years of Tesla ownership, I've had to wait at a Supercharger precisely once, at a stop in (IIRC) Pennsylvania on a road trip over the 4th of July (2021) holiday. I waited about five minutes (if that), and I was the only person waiting when I arrived. IIRC, there were one or two Teslas waiting when I left, too. It's been far more common for me to arrive at Superchargers that have few or no cars charging at them. Of course, the problem is that usage varies with time -- both time of day and time of year (heavy usage over road-trip holidays, for instance). Tesla must build out sufficient infrastructure to handle the peak demand times, which means that they'll be under-utilized at other times.

Also remember that Tesla has total control over which Supercharger stations will receive CCS support. In Europe, they've been rolling out support for non-Tesla vehicles on a station-by-station basis. In the US, it'll be even more constrained. This means that Tesla will be able to restrict busy Superchargers to Teslas only, so as not to make the crowding any worse than it is now at busy Superchargers. If they add CCS support to existing stations, they can do so starting with those that see the least use, so that adding CCS support will cause few or no problems.
 
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Our last run from St George to Denver was bloody miserable with paired charging (All Utah stops besides Beaver) all the way up to having to divert to EA because all chargers were packed with multiple waiters (Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs)

Major Texas metro SC also fill up fairly quickly and stay slammed for a good chunk of the day thanks to the Uber/Hertz drivers and their awful charging etiquette (Staying to 100% while there’s line a 5-10 deep waiting)
 
I agree with you. I've supercharged 68 times so far at 41 different sites. I believe I've only been in a wait line once and it was at a broken supercharger that gave 10-20kW max power. I have been multiple times at V2 superchargers that were more than half full so we'd share power however.

From memory, there seems to be a problem in California, where Tesla sell the most vehicles and I believe there is the most EVs in general in USA. There are some hotspots, like Levis was here when there were no superchargers in Quebec City. They have since fixed that. It doesn't seem like it's a globally spread problem.
If Tesla sales continue growing exponentially, and some other EV's as well, then ultimately every area will have Supercharger congestion like California unless they build out more. I think the urban problem can be solved by adding more charger density, as demand growth can be predicted, though they could keep pace or fall behind at times.

What's more challenging in California now, and ultimately be the same elsewhere, is the weekend/holiday travel problem, as demand is low most times of the week/year but extremely high in very concentrated periods. For folks who road trip a lot, I think this would only affect a tiny percentage of their long-distance travel - it's those who road trip say once or twice a year, it is likely those trips happen the same times/days as many others who road trip infrequently - holidays, school breaks, etc. They supercharge very infrequently, but could have a bad experience for a high percentage of those trips.

The extreme beyond the holiday scenario would be the the once-in-a-lifetime scenario, like the 2017 total eclipse, where everyone in the country is trying to leave at the same time from the same place. Sure, way fewer Tesla's then, but way fewer superchargers as well. I don't seem them ever solving this, nor attempting to. Huge traffic jams from all cars, but huge lines at the superchargers as well. So glad I didn't bring the then-new Tesla on that trip...

eclipse.png
 
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If Tesla sales continue growing exponentially, and some other EV's as well, then ultimately every area will have Supercharger congestion like California unless they build out more.
(emphasis mine)

Any reason to believe this won't happen?

It's a bit like the doom and gloom naysayers that say the grid is going to crash when Biden forces us all to buy EVs! :)
 
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