A Supercharger membership for non-Tesla owners briefly showed up on the app before disappearing, showing the company is working on opening up its charging stations. The White House announced that Tesla’s Supercharger stations would open up to non-Tesla electric vehicles sometime this year. This was part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to build a better network of EV chargers. This will encourage more people to adopt EVs.
One of the biggest concerns for potential EV owners is charging their vehicles. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many electric charging stations as gasoline stations. Tesla has the most extensive network of chargers, but only Tesla users have been able to use them. Opening up Superchargers to other EVs will tremendously improve the charging options for EV owners.
Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor, tweeted that a Supercharger membership for non-Tesla owners had appeared on the app. In a series of tweets, he described what the membership included, but a few hours later, he said it had been removed from the app. Merritt believed that it was launched before the company was ready. He initially said the $0.99 a month cost seemed a bit low compared to the $4 a month for Electrify America. He thought maybe Tesla was trying to undercut the competition. After the membership was removed from the app, Merritt believed that Tesla might have meant to input $9.99 a month.
What The Non-Tesla Supercharger Membership Could Have
Since the membership appeared and disappeared pretty quickly, it’s only speculation of what it could come with. It had two options: one for drivers to pay as they go and another to pay monthly and get a lower price per kWh. ‘Pay Per Use’ users don’t get access to the lower price. Merritt also noted that “a separate membership is needed for each Tesla Account.” In addition, each membership was limited to “a maximum of five Supercharger charge sessions per day.”
Tesla owners don’t pay a membership for Superchargers since this is a perk of driving these EVs. So, it makes sense that Tesla would start a membership for non-Tesla owners to get the same perks as Tesla owners. Of course, the EV company can’t give away its perks to someone who chooses to buy a different brand. But an extra cost for those drivers makes sense. That means the pay-as-you-go option will probably be at a higher rate. It’s unclear what the price could be. Merritt could be right that it will be $9.99 a month. That feels like the right price point. Since the Tesla Superchargers are supposed to open up to non-Tesla drivers sometime this year, this membership could launch in the next few months.
Source: Sawyer Merritt/Twitter