"standardized charging cable connectors are mandatory in Europe"<p>That's why it's opening it up first in the EU.<p>Source: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/1/22757159/tesla-supercharge-ev-pilot-netherlands" rel="nofollow">https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/1/22757159/tesla-supercharg...</a>
One benefit of Tesla (for Tesla inc) opening up their charging network is it provides less incentive for other providers to create new charging points. Tesla have plenty incentive as they are by far the dominant charging provider currently and can continue to expand potentially realising a monopoly on charging infrastructure. If they end up with such a huge lead over the patchwork of competitors then it’s going to give them loads of leverage.
For there next trick perhaps the EU can ban all payment networks, apps and anything which isn't waving a contactless card in front of the machine to pay for the electricity.<p>Maybe they could also increase the reliability 10 fold by making them default to giving away free electricity if it can't contact the providers services, I refuse to believe that the core electrical pieces of a car charger are anywhere near as unreliable as the infrastructure people keep throwing up in front of it.
Great news!<p>EV infrastructure in EU is incredibly fragmented. Nice that Tesla chargers are becoming accessible, but we still have fragmentation of apps and charging subscriptions/accounts (Tesla app/account is another one you need to have):
<a href="https://svedic.org/tech/daddy-did-you-really-need-electric-car" rel="nofollow">https://svedic.org/tech/daddy-did-you-really-need-electric-c...</a>
I long believed that Tesla should test out concept of charging stations, modeled after gas stations. Once they figure out the best design, structure and business, they should then franchise it to small operators.<p>It’s going to be good business for operators as Tesla owners are in the high earn/spend bracket and it will allow Tesla to significantly expand its brand’s footprint (not that they need it) while reinforcing the perception that driving Tesla is more superior to other experiences (even if it might not be true).<p>The incremental revenue from franchises is also nice. And it would allow Tesla to deploy more batteries and solar panels.
This is interesting news. First of all, it is good news, if the Tesla locations become available to other car brands as well. But it is probably also pointing to a change in the Tesla company strategy. So far, superchargers were built to enable long-distance travel with Tesla cars and consequently sell more cars. Tesla recently opened up a large factory for superchargers in China. It looks to me as if they could be entering the business of providing public charging as an individual profit center. Being able to mass manufacture the charging installations, they could have a huge cost advantage, and the superchargers are known to work very well in general. And of course the superchargers keep being a benefit to all Tesla owners.
When we see pricing for non-Teslas, we'll see how they're trading off keeping the network a competitive advantage...<p>Is it $10/kWh 'premium charging' or is it $0.10/kWh 'encourage EV's pricing'.
I welcome this development. It may both benefit Tesla with free marketing and further the transition to EVs in general.<p>In practical terms, expect to see some challenges reaching the charging port on non-Tesla vehicles...