Tesla Just Made Its Charging Plug An Open Standard: Why That’s A Huge Deal – SlashGear

According to the JD Power US Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, Tesla Superchargers provide the most satisfactory charging experience to customers. Plus, Tesla also appears to have cost advantage on its side. Application documents filed as part of the Texas Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (TxVEMP) revealed that a Tesla Supercharger location costs nearly one-fifth of the amount billed by competitors, (via Forbes). Plus, Tesla’s Supercharger network is one of the biggest of its kind with a seamless juicing up and payment flow. It definitely helps that a huge chunk of electric cars sold in the US are made by Tesla, which makes a strong case for standardizing Tesla’s charging tech.

Earlier this month, Tesla announced that it is opening the doors of its Supercharger network for non-Tesla EVs in Australia. Opening the charger connector design is the natural evolution towards making its tech — and by that extension, its electric cars — sound more appealing. Of course, it also paints a rather charitable environment-friendly image of Tesla among its EV rivals. The latest move also mirrors Tesla’s patent open-source strategy that has been in place since 2014. Back then, Elon Musk claimed that the company can’t make enough electric cars to mitigate the carbon crisis. In 2022, Tesla is touting similar benefits by pushing its proprietary charging connector architecture out in the open. It remains to be seen whether the likes of GM and Stellantis take up on Tesla’s offer.