Tesla Is Making Big Changes To Its Superchargers — Here’s Why
Tesla is going long.
It is rolling out a big update to its Supercharger network of public charging stations to help accommodate vehicles from other automakers.
Every major brand is in the process of making its electric models compatible with Superchargers and switching to the Tesla-designed NACS-type port.
The problem is that all Teslas are designed with charging ports located on their left rear fenders and the Supercharger network was optimized to accommodate this design.
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The cables on the original Superchargers aren’t long enough to reach the port locations on vehicles from other brands, often including the common left front fender location. This has led to drivers having to park at odd angles or in positions that take up more than one spot, essentially blocking the use of a second supercharger. American Cars And Racing ran into this issue during our recent test of the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
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Tesla has started to update its stations with longer cables, but it will be a while before they’re all swapped out. Tesla says it is aiming to have the long cables at the majority of its stations within 18 months, although that is all around the world, not just in the U.S.
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It is also redesigning the layout of the stations to help avoid the issue and is updating its navigation system so that it can determine if a non-Tesla with a port location that might put it into a position to block multiple chargers is currently plugged-in, which would allow a Tesla driver to decide if they want to take their chances or find a different Supercharger to use.
Many of the vehicles from other brands will continue to be built with the CCS-type port and will require an adapter. The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and upcoming Ioniq 9 will come from the factory with an NACS-port, but they are located on the right rear corner of the vehicles.
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