Tesla Opens its EV Chargers to Drivers of Non-Tesla Vehicles in the Netherlands in a New Pilot

author: Eric Walz   

Electric automaker Tesla, which is now the world's most valuable automaker, has spent years building out a nationwide network of EV chargers so drivers of its vehicles always have a convenient place to charge. However, up until now Tesla's charging network could only be used by Tesla vehicles, but that's about the change.

Tesla announced in a press release on Monday that drivers of other brands of electric vehicles will be able to use its chargers for a new pilot in the Netherlands. The EV charging pilot will be tested at 10 locations in the country, the company said.

The Non-Tesla Supercharger pilot is currently limited to EV drivers who live in the Netherlands, but Tesla said its will be expanding the pilot to additional markets shortly. However, the company said that future sites will only be opened to Non-Tesla vehicles if there is available capacity.

Dutch non-Tesla EV drivers can access the charging stations through the latest version of the automaker's smartphone app available for iOS and Android devices.

Tesla said its always been its ambition to open its Supercharger network to Non-Tesla drivers, which aligns with the company's mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. Tesla drivers can continue to access the chargers as usual, although they may be a bit more crowded at times.

With the additional vehicles gaining access to the chargers, Tesla said its will continuously monitor each station for congestion, to make sure its vehicle owners have available access charging when needed.

The Superchargers are open to EVs with the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug that's preferred by European automakers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen's brands, which includes Audi and Porsche. Tesla said that non-Tesla cars can only charge with the CCS connector. Tesla also uses the CCS plug for the Model 3 sold in Europe.  

It will cost drivers of non-Tesla vehicles a bit more to charge their vehicles. Tesla said the additional fees reflect the additional costs incurred to support charging a wider range of EVs, as well as the adjustments to the charging sites to accommodate these vehicles. 

Charging costs vary by site, but the prices will be shown in the Tesla app. The per kWh price to charge however can be discounted with a charging membership, according to Tesla.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced plans to make the chargers available to other drivers in a tweet on July 20, 2021 in a response to a user that highlighted the fact that Tesla uses a proprietary charging connection for its vehicles. 

Musk said the reason Tesla adopted its own design was that there was no standard back then, so the company went ahead and created its own charging plug.

Tesla is also in the process of rolling out its new V3 Superchargers, which were first announced in March 2019. At the time, Tesla said the more powerful Superchargers can add 75 miles of range to a Model 3 sedan in just 5 minutes. The automaker anticipates that the average charging session at a V3 Supercharger will take around 15 minutes. 

Tesla's next-generation V3 Superchargers can also charge more vehicles at the same time. Tesla said the V3 Superchargers will ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging their vehicles by an average of 50%, based on fleet data collected by the company. 

In May, Tesla said it completely redesigned the electrical architecture of the V3 Superchargers after the first of them went online in China. Each cabinet is more powerful, providing 1 megawatt (MW), which is the same power in Tesla's utility products, which is enough to power an entire building.

The V3 Superchargers support a peak charge rate of up to 250kW, which is more than double the output of the V2 Superchargers which deliver charge rates of 120kW. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.