Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has frequently mentioned exposing his Supercharging network to rivals, but he has never really done so in the U. S., where his business dominates the market for electric vehicles.
The brazen CEO might well have 7.5 billion reasons right now to get such ambitions along.
According to administration insiders, the Department of Transportation is anticipated to adopt a requirement the next week that will put pressure on Tesla to offer the charger used by its rivals in addition to its proprietary charging gear in the United States.
With President Joe Biden’s aim to cover the country with 500,000 EV chargers in the years ahead, up from 100,000 from the year 2021, the automaker will be excluded from the $7.5 billion in subsidies exiting out of Washington if this does not happen.
The network plays a key role in Biden’s strategy to combat climate change by shifting 50% of all new car sales in the United States to electric by 2030.
Proponents believed a lack of chargers on American roadways has stunted the rise of EV sales and their beneficial effects on the environment.
Even though Musk has previously criticised the role of the federal government, there are many indications that Tesla is about to democratise its network as the pressure from the United States increases.
Tesla appealed to the Federal Highway Administration in January of 2022 with suggestions for the Biden administration on how to design the charging programme.
State officials in Ohio said the company replied to a recent request for billing proposals from businesses.
Although a final decision had not been reached, the company in Arizona informed the state that it was willing to upgrade its chargers or create new ones to comply with the regulations.
Last month in Washington, D.C., Musk engaged with representatives of the White House.
The EV charging programme was one among the topics considered, White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu told the media.
While Musk has not publicly detailed his plans for modifications to the U.S. market, he did say in a July 2021 earnings report that the purpose of Tesla’s charging network wasn’t to build a walled garden and use it to bully our rivals.
The business has established a few Superchargers in Australia and Europe.
Musk and Tesla did not respond to an email.
State officials had high hopes.
It is acknowledged that Tesla wants to make changes to make their system more accessible. Stuart Anderson, the head of the state of Iowa – Transportation Development Division, stated that if they do get to that point and satisfy the qualifying conditions, they will unquestionably be eligible for the money.
A project manager from the Arizona Department of Transportation, called Thor Anderson reported having brief discussions about Biden’s EV charger initiative with Tesla representatives.
He indicated on Friday that they are keeping the option open but have not yet committed.
With roughly 40,000 charges globally, Tesla’s U.S. Supercharger network is frequently cited as the gold standard since it is quick, dependable, and extensive.
However, the network has only been available to Tesla owners for years because of a plug that only attaches to Tesla cars, making it unavailable to anyone driving a Volkswagen, maybe a Ford, or even Chevy.
Tesla owners can buy an adaptor to use the Combined Charging System, or CCS, chargers that are the norm in the United States, but non-Tesla owners are not able to use Superchargers in the same way.
Analysts stated that while opening up its networks would increase funding and revenue for Tesla, it might also reduce the uniqueness of the brand and make it more difficult for the manufacturer to maintain the network.
According to Chris Harto, the Senior Policy Analyst of Consumer Reports, it’s clearly a balance for them to decide how much prospective federal subsidies are for extending their network to preserve that competitive advantage on billing.
