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Tesla open up the SuC network [in UK]
- Thread starter kelvin 660
- Start date
MrBadger
Badger out
Tesla chargers recognise the car and charge to the owners account. So for 3rd party cars the owner would have to set up a Tesla account, disclosing the vehicle VIN number, etc and register a payment card. All of that would be valuable marketing information for Tesla.
Tesla would be able to charge differential rates depending on any factor that Tesla chose.
As has been said above, eventually some sort of order will come to the rest of the public charging network and the Tesla chargers will not be so special.
I charge 80% at home, so opening the Tesla charger network won't really impact me. Today I'm charging at the Amesbury A303 and enjoying a Starbucks coffee at the Holiday Inn, 10% discount for coffee, so £3.15 for a mid sized coffee served in a china mug with waitress service. Far better than a Costa Coffee in a paper cup whilst sitting in the car!
I was down to 7%when I plugged in, the initial charge rate was over 200kwh, over 900 miles in an hour into a pre-conditioned battery!
Tesla would be able to charge differential rates depending on any factor that Tesla chose.
As has been said above, eventually some sort of order will come to the rest of the public charging network and the Tesla chargers will not be so special.
I charge 80% at home, so opening the Tesla charger network won't really impact me. Today I'm charging at the Amesbury A303 and enjoying a Starbucks coffee at the Holiday Inn, 10% discount for coffee, so £3.15 for a mid sized coffee served in a china mug with waitress service. Far better than a Costa Coffee in a paper cup whilst sitting in the car!
I was down to 7%when I plugged in, the initial charge rate was over 200kwh, over 900 miles in an hour into a pre-conditioned battery!
Are other manufacturers cars even capable of the level of network communication Tesla cars have? Could, for example, a Peugeot e-208 communicate with the Tesla servers? I know from personal experience that Peugeot, just as an example, are VERY tight lipped about allowing anyone access to any info about their cars’ tech systems.
It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the obstacles to opening up the Tesla SuC network is the other manufacturers unwillingness to invest in the idea of adding their cars to the Tesla central database. This could be why all the other networks use an app, RFID card or pay as you go to cover payments.
Mr H
Active Member
Or Tesla could just fit contactless payment pads to the stalls with a premium price attached. Wouldn’t be difficult as most of the hardware, I.e the communications is already there
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Elon said it'll just be activated via an app and all payment would be through that too.
Payment terminals will have extra provider fees and they break constantly (the ones in the US do at third party charge stations) which is probably something Tesla likely doesn't want to deal with.
Also while the main cabinet might be connected, the stalls might not be.
Are Tesla chargers considered as "Public"?
To "us" they are part of our club - we bought them so they are "private" company chargers - is that our 'get out clause' or does that not apply?
As soon as you start taking card details then you enter into the world of PCI compliance which puts a ton of technology, legal and security requirements for people taking card payments. Not just that, you'd also need to roll it out to existing superchargers and subsequent ones and have a 24x7 fully-staffed help desk to deal with the "My card doesn't work" complaints. If you don't have the former, the Financial conduct authority will come crashing down on you, and if you don't do the latter your once world-beating charge network becomes as reliable as ecotricity
I'm guessing only ones that have any government grant funding in place would be fair game for conversion for general public use. How many ( if any) benefitted from it I'm not sure.
I'm pretty sure none of the UK SuperChargers had direct government funding, but that seems set to change. The intention is that the government will provide high power connections at services stations and mandate that providers using them are open networks, it will be hard for Tesla to get new sites without being part of this scheme. I'm fairly sure that will also mandate contactless payment. Given Elon already saying they will, I assume they've decided to jsut go along with it as it furthers 'the mission', rejecting and going legal would just be slowing down the process of electrification.
I wouldn't be surprised if these new superchargers had some variation on cable length and positioning to accommodate the different charging port positions on the various cars so as not to block adjacent chargers. Existing superchargers may remain within the Tesla only community.
SpareHeadOne
Member
As long as Tesla keep siting them in slightly inconvenient locations (e.g. opposite end of the car park from the entrance to the services buildings) we should be safe for a while at least. Joe Public will pick the one next to the entrance instead of walking an extra 100 yards nine times out of ten.
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