Tesla’s Supercharger network of charging stations is expansive and reliable when compared to other options. Those are just some of the reasons that so many automakers decided over the course of 2023 to switch to Tesla’s NACS plug. Now, a small city commission meeting has shed light on how soon two non-Tesla brands will have access to the network.
As Carscoops has highlighted a number of times, the current charging infrastructure across North America is sorely lacking. It’s unreliable, inconsistent, and at times, some chargers even appear to damage cars that hook up. Many brands including Ford and General Motors have committed to enabling their customers to charge at Tesla Supercharging stations in the near future.
Read: WSJ Tried Over 120 EV Chargers in LA—Nearly 30% Were Broken
At a city planning meeting in Farr West City, UT, Jenny Pretare, a Tesla Design manager of Charging Infrastructure said that the changes are coming fast. “Most of the other car manufacturers have agreed to adopt Tesla’s charge port. Ford and GM are starting in February of 2024… we’re opening up to most of the other car manufacturers in stages just to make sure we don’t get swamped all at once.”
She even detailed that timeline by saying that “We’re phasing them in over the course of the year.” Considering that GM and Ford both sell quite a number of EVs, the customer base of each company should prove to provide Tesla with a great test bed in February.
That in turn, should enable a smoother transition as other brands come online over the course of 2024. Notably, hardware changes to allow a non-Tesla vehicle to directly plug into a Tesla Supercharger might not happen for some brands until 2025.
For the time being, expect most non-Tesla EVs to plug in at Supercharger stations with an adapter of one sort or another. Tesla is supporting that possibility itself through its proprietary “Magic Adapter.”