During an earnings call back in 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the Supercharger Network is not a “walled garden.” Musk stated then that other EV manufacturers are welcome to use the Supercharger Network provided that they share in the system’s costs and use an adapter for their vehicles.
Today, it appears that Elon Musk has become even more flexible by not even requiring other EVs to use adapters for Tesla’s rapid charging network. While responding to a question at the Financial Times‘ Future of the Car Summit, Musk noted that Tesla would be proactively adding industry connectors to its Superchargers in the United States.
“We’ve already opened Tesla Superchargers to other electric cars in Europe, and we intend to roll that out worldwide. It’s a little trickier in the US because we have a different connector than the rest of the industry, but we will be adding the rest of the industry connectors as an option to Superchargers in the US,” Musk said.
This, of course, could result in Tesla losing an edge against its competitors in the EV market. The Supercharger Network, after all, is one of the most robust and reliable fast-charging systems for electric vehicles in the country, and in the United States at least, only Teslas are able to use them. For Musk, however, such a price is worth paying if it results in the further advancement of electric vehicles.
“We are trying as best as possible to do the right thing for the advancement of electrification, even if that diminishes our competitive advantage,” Musk said.
Tesla has already opened access to other electric cars in select Superchargers across Europe, and so far, the program appears to be going well. Things are a bit simpler in areas such as Europe, however, as Tesla already adopts industry adapters and ports for both its Superchargers and vehicles in the region.
Musk’s interview with the Financial Times could be viewed below.
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