The electric vehicle charging landscape is rapidly evolving, with more options available to drivers than ever before. The Tesla Supercharger network, once exclusive to Tesla owners, is now accessible to a growing list of non-Tesla electric vehicles in the United States and Canada. This expansion has opened up over 17,000 fast chargers to EVs like the Rivian R1T, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Chevrolet Blazer EV, providing owners with more charging options than ever before.
In addition to the Tesla Supercharger network, there are a myriad of other charging networks available to EV drivers, such as EVgo, Electrify America, and ChargePoint. These networks offer CCS charging stalls, providing drivers with even more charging options. In total, EV owners who can utilize both Tesla Superchargers and CCS stalls have access to over 37,000 charging ports in the United States, according to the Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.
To test the effectiveness of the new charging options, Robert Dunn from the Aging Wheels YouTube channel recently embarked on a 400-mile trip from Saint Louis, Missouri to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Last year, Dunn conducted a similar experiment using a Polestar 2 and a rented Tesla Model 3, relying solely on Superchargers for the Tesla and CCS chargers for the Polestar. This year, Dunn repeated the experiment with the same Polestar 2 and a Kia EV6, utilizing both the Supercharger network and CCS fast chargers.
Dunn found that the charging experience has improved dramatically since last year, with old CCS chargers being upgraded or replaced and more chargers being installed along the route. While some CCS chargers were still a bit challenging to activate and required multiple smartphone apps to use, overall, the charging infrastructure has improved significantly.
With the growing accessibility of the Tesla Supercharger network to non-Tesla EVs and the continued improvement of non-Tesla charging networks, EV drivers now have more charging options than ever before. The increased availability of charging infrastructure is a positive development for the EV industry, making it easier for drivers to charge their vehicles and travel longer distances with confidence.