Tesla will open up Superchargers to non-Tesla electric vehicles in the US later this year

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales

The White House said in a memo that non-Tesla electric cars will be able to use the Supercharger network in the US in late 2022.

As part of a limited pilot program in Europe, the company has allowed non-Tesla EV owners to use its Supercharger plugs, but has not said when US charging stations would be made available to non-Tesla EV owners. EV owners may be able to use Superchargers as soon as the end of the year, according to a fact sheet published by the White House.

The White House states that there will be new Supercharger equipment that will allow non-Tesla EV drivers in North America to use it.

The company did not reply to an email requesting confirmation of the plans. It is not clear if the White House took advantage of the announcement by the electric car maker. Musk has been hostile to the president, and Biden has gone out of his way to avoid mentioning the electric car company.

EV charging networks are often seen as fast, reliable, and plentiful by the public. Someone driving a plug-in Volkswagen, Ford, or Chevy vehicle wouldn't be able to use the network because it's only available to the owners of the cars.

For a long time, Musk has talked about opening up his Superchargers to other companies. The company started in Norway and went on to expand to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

If the US version of the pilot program works the same as it does in Europe, non-Tesla EV owners will need to download the most recent version of the app. They will be asked to choose "Charge Your Non-Tesla" in order to find the closest Supercharging site. The stations can still be used by owners of the electric car company. The company said it would keep a close watch on each site.

In order to access the company's Superchargers in the US, which have over 6,000 plugs, non-Tesla vehicles will need an accessory, according to the department of energy. According to the company, it has 35,000 Supercharger plugs.

There are more than 100,000 charging stations in the US. $5 billion will be spent by the Biden administration to increase the number of charging points to 500,000. Federal money will only be available to install charging ports that can be used by the broadest number of vehicle owners according to new standards laid out by the White House.