- Extra automakers are gaining access to the Tesla Supercharging community
- Tesla homeowners aren’t precisely thrilled, particularly when the homeowners must take up two charging spots to plug-in
- OEMs are engaged on fixing the issue
As you in all probability know, Tesla Superchargers have began opening as much as non-Tesla EVs just like the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Blazer EV. Which means that homeowners of Ford, Rivian, and now Normal Motors autos are lastly in a position to plug in (if they’ll get a NACS adapter, that’s) at most charging stalls throughout the U.S.
Sounds nice, proper? Properly, yeah. It’s. Tesla’s Supercharging community is essentially the most mature in your complete nation. Tesla homeowners are accustomed to a seamless charging expertise—simply again in, plug in, and juice up. However non-Tesla EVs? It may not be that straightforward. See, the cost ports on another EVs are far and wide—entrance, again, proper, left—you identify it. That is inflicting a serious headache as help for brand new producers comes on-line and new Supercharger customers attempt to determine easy methods to cope with Tesla’s brief Supercharger cables.
Tesla’s official answer is to only to double-park, which, below regular circumstances, is not that large of a deal. However when Superchargers are in busy areas or as folks journey on holidays, the thought of 1 (or extra) chargers being unavailable is usually a large drawback.
[I]n some circumstances you might need to park over the road in an effort to cost comfortably. Keep away from parking diagonally to succeed in the cable and attempt to hinder as few cost posts as attainable. Cost port areas differ by EV mannequin, which requires cable sharing between adjoining stalls at many websites.
Regardless of Tesla having an official answer, homeowners of non-Tesla EVs are sometimes uncertain of easy methods to truly park after they pull as much as a charger. One Blazer EV proprietor on Reddit complained concerning the charging cable being too brief. One other Cadillac Lyriq proprietor posted a photograph of an extraordinarily overstretched cable, albeit final yr at a Magic Dock location.
A separate Lyriq proprietor was noticed taking on three separate spots (as Tesla confirmed how not to do within the illustration above). It is not clear if this was because of the cable not reaching or as a result of the proprietor wasn’t positive easy methods to correctly park the car on the charger. Regardless, there’s clearly each an schooling situation and an infrastructure situation at play right here.
It is not truthful to lump all non-Tesla Supercharger customers into the identical group. Many homeowners are literally very respectful of how they park on the chargers. For instance, a few movies of Blazer EV drivers present the homeowners utilizing the right-most stall to reduce their impression on different autos. Others have used pull-through stalls (like those demonstrated right here) to keep away from double-parking, however not all areas have these kinds of placement.
So, what is the repair right here? For now, nothing.
Tesla engineers have straight up warned in opposition to utilizing NACS extension cables at Superchargers, so a right away technical answer is out. Schooling? Properly, Tesla exhibits people easy methods to park proper within the app wanted for charging, in order that’s not working both. Evidently that is greater headache than what might be solved by EV homeowners alone.
Fortunately, OEMs are addressing the issue. For instance, Rivian has voluntarily relocated the charging port on the upcoming Rivian R2 in order that it’s positioned in the identical location as Tesla’s autos. Tesla, because the proprietor of the Supercharging community, appears to be prioritizing the rollout of V4 Supercharger stalls with longer cables. It is not a right away repair by any means, nor low-cost, however it’s progress.
Which means be ready to buddy up with some non-Teslas on the Supercharger for a little bit bit—as a result of there are extra automakers getting added to the Supercharger community subsequent yr. And possibly do not berate anyone simply because they’re taking on two stalls.
