Tesla Motors plans to open its DC fast charging stations to other types of electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2021, according to Elon Musk, CEO of the company.
In a Twitter post, Musk said, “We’re making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year.” The Supercharger network current has more than 25,000 charging points globally and the move would expand the available number of points available for all EVs as the market continues to expand.
Tesla developed its own connector to allow other vehicles to use its Supercharger network both for low- and high-power charging, Musk said.
Reuters reported that Tesla has been in talks with European countries to share its Supercharger network with other EVs including those in Germany, Sweden and Norway, where there is a high concentration of EVs already.
As one of the pioneers in electric vehicles and the popularity of its vehicles, Tesla is credited in part to the boom happening for EVs among all automotive OEMs. Consumer demand as well as a desire to reduce carbon footprints seem to be driving automakers to make the switch to EVs.
U.S. car giants Ford and GM both plan to make EVs their primary models by 2030 and in some cases phase out gas and diesel-based vehicles altogether. Volvo, VW, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Jaguar and others have all followed suit pledging EVs are the future of the automotive industry.
That means more EV charging stations will be needed to meet increasing demand from consumers. And more are coming quickly with the Biden Administration pushing to build some 550,000 EV charging stations to accommodate the nation’s push to electrification.
Additionally:
- Oil giant BP plans to provide 70,000 public charging stations by 2030.
- Electrify America is doubling its plans for fast charging stations, reaching 1,800 points by 2025 and 10,000 individual chargers in North America.
- Shell will also install 500,000 charging points by 2025, up from about 60,000 stations today.
More moves are likely to happen as EVs become more popular globally and the need for charging becomes a primary concern for both consumers and auto makers.
