Tesla to open US charging network to rivals in $7.5 bln federal program
SAN FRANCISCO听–听罢别蝉濒补听滨苍肠.听飞颈濒濒听辞辫别苍听part of its US听肠丑补谤驳颈苍驳听苍别迟飞辞谤办听to electric vehicles (EVs) made by听谤颈惫补濒蝉听as part of a $7.5 billion听蹿别诲别谤补濒听辫谤辞驳谤补尘听to expand the use of EVs聽and cut聽carbon emissions.
罢丑别听move could help turn聽罢别蝉濒补听into the universal “filling station” of the EV era – and risk eroding a competitive edge for vehicles made by the company, which has exclusive access to the biggest聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听of high-speed Superchargers in the United States.
By late 2024,聽罢别蝉濒补听would听辞辫别苍听3,500 new and existing Superchargers along highway corridors to non-罢别蝉濒补听肠耻蝉迟辞尘别谤蝉,听. It聽would also聽offer 4,000 slower chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants.
Biden wrote on Twitter that the plan to听辞辫别苍听a “big part” of听罢别蝉濒补‘s聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听to all drivers was a “big deal” and would “make a big difference.”
In response,聽罢别蝉濒补听Chief Executive Musk said, “.”
A White House official said at a briefing that聽罢别蝉濒补听would be eligible for a subsidy – including retrofitting its existing fleet – as long as its chargers allowed聽other vehicles with a听蹿别诲别谤补濒ly backed听肠丑补谤驳颈苍驳听standard called CCS to charge.
The administration said聽罢别蝉濒补听had not committed to adopting CCS as its standard, but it must comply with the requirements to qualify for听蹿别诲别谤补濒听funds.
罢别蝉濒补听has 17,711 Superchargers, accounting for about 60% of total US聽fast chargers,聽which聽can add hundreds of miles of driving range in an hour or less. There are also nearly 10,000 “destination” chargers with聽罢别蝉濒补听pl耻驳蝉听that can recharge a vehicle overnight.
Opening up access to听罢别蝉濒补‘s聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听would be a quick win for an ambitious听蹿别诲别谤补濒听辫谤辞驳谤补尘听to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, up from 130,000 currently.
罢别蝉濒补听wrote on Twitter, without聽elaborating on when, where and how it聽would听辞辫别苍听its chargers. It had already planned to more than double its听鲍.厂. Supercharger聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听by the end of 2024, it said.
PLUG AND PAY
Companies that hoped to tap the听蹿别诲别谤补濒听funding for this聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听must also use standardized payment options that require a single method of identification that works across all chargers, the administration said.
All EV drivers would be able to access these stations using the聽罢别蝉濒补听app or website, it said.
Adding non-罢别蝉濒补听owners may require a different plug and payment method.
“罢别蝉濒补听does have a hardware and a software solution” to allow for CCS, the White House official said.
Investors and听鲍.厂. EV enthusiasts have been waiting for action on chargers from Musk, who said in 2021 that the point of his听肠丑补谤驳颈苍驳听苍别迟飞辞谤办听was “not to create a walled garden and use that to bludgeon our competitors.” The company has听辞辫别苍ed some Superchargers in Europe and Australia to non-罢别蝉濒补听owners since 2021.
Analysts said the amount of听蹿别诲别谤补濒听funds at stake meant Musk had to either act on the plan or risk other听肠丑补谤驳颈苍驳听companies, such as EVgo Inc. and ChargePoint Holdings Inc., taking the market.
“The amount of money involved in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula听笔谤辞驳谤补尘听provides a strong incentive for聽罢别蝉濒补听to adapt its strategy to include the installation of CCS ports,” said Sam Houston, senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, said, “There is no doubt the $7.5 billion in听蹿别诲别谤补濒听肠丑补谤驳颈苍驳听investment threatens听罢别蝉濒补‘s competitive advantage. That is actually the entire point of the听辫谤辞驳谤补尘.”
Opening up its听苍别迟飞辞谤办s could expand funding and revenue for听罢别蝉濒补, but could also erode the brand’s exclusivity and make it challenging for the automaker to manage the听苍别迟飞辞谤办, analysts said.
“There is a strong likelihood that if they听辞辫别苍听the Supercharger聽苍别迟飞辞谤办听to other vehicles, their current excellent reliability rate will decline significantly,” said Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid. – Reuters
