Tesla's New Charger Is A Big Deal For Every EV Owner - Here's Why

Tesla and its associated entities can be faulted for a lot of things, despite the company's success. The company's CEO bought an entire social media network on a whim and fired a bunch of employees, leading the site to break fairly regularly. The Tesla Cybertruck has been "nearing production" for multiple years with no real roadmap provided. Tesla's Full Self-Driving Beta software was initially staged, and is currently in the middle of a large scale recall, as well as investigations by the Federal government.

For all of Tesla's faults, one of the brand's bright sides is its very large network of electric vehicle chargers. There are currently more than 40,000 Superchargers installed all over the globe, making it one of the largest charging networks around. When it comes to EV charging, the current infrastructure is in need of a huge overhaul, as chargers from other brands are often unreliable or not present at all. Tesla might change that with the Supercharger's newest trick.

Until recently, Tesla's Superchargers could only charge Tesla vehicles. Now, Tesla has opened up its charging network to other vehicle makes, according to a tweet from Tesla's charging-centric account. The program was initially tested in 2021, but now has been expanded to multiple countries including the United States. 

If you have a non-Tesla vehicle, all you need to do is download the Tesla App to find a nearby Supercharger. Once you get to the Supercharger location, you need to find a charging stall, unlock the charging adaptor for your car, plug it in, and start charging. You can then start or stop charging through the app. It's important to note that pricing is different for non-Tesla owners, and does vary by location, according to Tesla's website.

With the Supercharger network comes its own practices and cost structure. Tesla charges a $0.50 idle charge per minute if the vehicle is already charged. That increases to $1.00 per minute if every stall is currently occupied. According to Tesla, this prevents people from hogging spots while others wait to charge.