Say what you will about Elon Musk and his public antics, Tesla has the best charging network in the world. Except when it doesn’t.
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to charging your EV is how and where you can charge it. If you’re driving a Tesla, it’s less of a challenge than with most other EVs, thanks to the brand’s excellent Supercharger network. And, while it’s almost everywhere — it isn’t everywhere, and you won’t be able to fast charge at an Electrify America or Flo charger in a Tesla charging station due to the brand’s proprietary connector … unless, that is, you can get an adapter!
Tesla recently released a CCS Combo 1 adapter for the North American market, which would allow some recent models to get their charge at third-party stations, like those run by EVgo or Electrify America. The adapter costs $250.
Of course, compatibility is limited. Right now, only the newer Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X can use the adapter, which may require a retrofit. Also of course, the brand is poo-pooing the idea of charging your Tesla at a third-party station in advance by warning customers that “Most third-party stations are not capable of charging Tesla vehicles at 250 kw,” basically saying that, sure, while you can charge up at a non-Tesla station, you probably wouldn’t be able to access peak power output from said charging station. Yay.
Also, if you’re looking to charge up at a station that uses Plug and Charge functionality, you wouldn’t be able to be automatically identified for billing. You’d have to do things the old-fashioned way with your app or credit card.
Meanwhile, the brand that Musk built has made noise over the years about making its Supercharger network available to other EV brands with a CCS adapter, but nothing has come of that yet. And you’d probably have to pay extra for the privilege of using a Tesla charger, we’re sure.
SOURCE | IMAGES: TESLA, VIA GREEN CAR REPORTS.
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