Tesla has taken the first step in opening up their Supercharger network to other electric vehicle (EV) owners in the United States. On Tuesday evening the automaker added a new Supercharger membership option for non-Tesla owners.
The new membership option can be found in the Tesla mobile app, where it shows it is priced at just $0.99 per month. Tesla has also updated their Terms of Use page with more details on the membership. According to the terms, non-Tesla EV owners will be limited to 5 Supercharger sessions per day. (h/t: @SawyerMerritt)
UPDATE 9:01pm PST: Just like with the Extended Service Agreement a few weeks ago, it looks like someone at Tesla hit the wrong button and added the memberships before they were supposed to. It is no longer appearing in the app.
UPDATE 9:39pm PST: We’re not quite sure what is going on, but the membership option has reappeared in the app.
UPDATE August 17 4:25pm PST: The option has once again been removed. Tesla has also started reaching out to those customers who were able to sign up for a membership before it was pulled, confirming the memberships aren’t available yet and issuing refunds to their credit cards.
With a membership non-Tesla EV owners obviously get access to the Supercharger network, but also get a lower price per kWh. Although that rate is not specified and will vary by location, it will still be higher than what Tesla owners pay to plug in, just like how the non-Tesla Supercharger pilot program operates in several European countries.
This rate is extremely cheap compared to the same membership option in Europe, where it is priced around €12.99 per month. A reason for the low rate could be that there is currently no way for a non-Tesla owner to plug in and use a Supercharger, as all locations in the U.S. only feature Tesla’s proprietary connector.
Elon Musk has previously said the company would add CCS connectors, and we have previously reported exclusively on how they are going to do that with the Magic Dock. We have yet to hear of any Supercharger stations being retrofitted with the Magic Dock, and the mobile app still shows no Superchargers are available to non-Tesla EVs.
However, with the launch of the membership we could see non-Teslas plugged in to a Supercharger in the U.S. very soon. According to documents from The White House, it could happen before the end of the year.
The Supercharger membership option does not appear in the mobile app in Canada.
