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gadnuk

"standardized charging cable connectors are mandatory in Europe"

That's why it's opening it up first in the EU.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/1/22757159/tesla-supercharg...

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Tesla converted their chargers to use the standard charging connector in Europe (CCS) several years ago.

But while any CCS vehicle was technically capable of plugging in to Tesla's CCS superchargers, until now only Tesla vehicles could charge there because the supercharger's software would recognise a non-Tesla vehicle and not allow it to charge.

There isn't a mandate that requires charging stations must be public and available to all vehicles. However, by converting the supercharger network into an open charging network, Tesla should be eligible to bid for government funding for charger network expansion, which was not available to a Tesla-exclusive charging network.

Apparently, EU made CCS compulsory for the Electric vehicle charging network since 2014[0]. It's not really a happy accident but a regulation that went well.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Charging_System

And this article is exactly why it shows that it made so much sense. With one software update, so many more chargers came online for all EVs in Europe, that could not happen in the US where Teslas use a special plug.

Tesla created the same problem for themselves in Europe. Instead of being CCS Type 2 Combo from the beginning, Tesla initially went with their own different special plug. It was a modified Type 2 which also supported DC fast charging.

A few years ago Tesla retrofitted all chargers in Europe to have two plugs - their modified type 2 and CCS. The Model 3 launched with a CCS inlet in Europe and older Model Ss and Xs needed a hardware change and an adapter to use CCS:

https://insideevs.com/news/343728/most-tesla-superchargers-n...

https://insideevs.com/news/438861/ccs2-retrofit-tesla-europe...

These days Tesla's newer chargers just have CCS plugs.

Tesla could do a similar retrofit in North America as part of the transition to CCS. It's a bigger problem because there are more chargers to do, but it's still only 12,653 ports:

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html

Tesla didn’t create the problem for themselves purposely. CCS Type 2 was not in production when Tesla began building Superchargers a decade ago (and didn’t want their progress impeded by typical “death by committee” of legacy automakers, as a functioning fast DC charging network is a moat and an asset for an EV manufacturer), and while Europe forced them to adopt CCS in that market, I believe Tesla’s plug will remain the standard in the US for the foreseeable future (as they sell the majority of EVs in America, have the largest charging network, and the US government doesn’t have the political will to mandate CCS). Tesla has committed to tripling the size of the US Supercharger network in the next two years while Electrify America is desperate for investment it can’t get (because, no surprise, you can’t make a profit with fast DC charging stations between demand charges and price sensitive drivers [1]; it’s a cost center you want to break even on to sell high margin cars, not a revenue driver as a distinct business).

[1] https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nearly-all-high-voltage-ev-...

> "you can’t make a profit with fast DC charging stations between demand charges and price sensitive drivers"

Fast charging will be perfectly profitable in the longer term. There just isn't a large enough established base of EVs to create enough demand yet. But once there is, there will be plenty of customers willing to pay a premium for the fastest, best-located chargers with the best amenities and services on site.

Fast charger operators can make significantly higher margins on reselling electricity than anyone is making on gasoline.

Demand charges are an issue when demand is limited and spiky, but this will be alleviated through increased scale. More customers charging results in a smoother, more predictable demand curve. On-site battery storage is another solution.

> I believe Tesla’s plug will remain the standard in the US for the foreseeable future

It isn't the standard now. All other manufacturers have switched to CCS Type 1 Combo. Tesla is the last holdout.

Tesla sells J1772 chargers and they will sell a CCS adapter. The next step is to put CCS plugs on the chargers and then CCS inlets on the cars.

I am aware of your disdain for Tesla, but they are the only volume EV manufacturer in North America and the largest fast DC charging network currently. Therefore, they are the current standard, not one set by a group of low volume runner ups. Same reason Hertz is ordering 100k+ Teslas for their fleet (their CEO specially said they’re the only automaker building EVs in volume [1]). Europe is of course a different market with more regulation, where government set the fast DC charging standard by edict.

“How do we democratize access to electric vehicles? That’s a very important part of our strategy,” Mark Fields, who joined Hertz as interim chief executive officer earlier this month, said in an interview. “Tesla is the only manufacturer that can produce EVs at scale.”

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28989001

> Therefore, they are the current standard

A standard that no one else uses is not much of a standard. All other manufacturers have switched to CCS Type 1 Combo. Eventually Tesla will switch too.

The plug isn't that big an obstacle, adapters are like $150.

Any friction is a big deal, it makes the difference between having a few nerds doing it or everybody.

> There isn't a mandate that requires charging stations must be public and available to all vehicles. However, by converting the supercharger network into an open charging network, Tesla should be eligible to bid for government funding for charger network expansion, which was not available to a Tesla-exclusive charging network.

So you're telling me that instead of a specific kind of government regulation, another kind of government regulation got Tesla out of the walled garden? Got it!

> supercharger's software would recognise a non-Tesla vehicle

Also it has taken time for open standards to be developed to allow "Plug & Charge" operation:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Charge_Point_Protocol

There are of course charge stations where you use an app or kiosk to enter your user account/payment information.

Tesla haven't implemented Plug & Charge for non-Tesla vehicles yet.

With the current implementation, you download the Tesla app, set up your payment account, then manually select your stall number in the app to begin charging.

Actually it seems that the Tesla superchargers had everying implemented to charge any vehicle, but lacking a payment process would refuse to do so. This became apparent when about a year ago there was some issue with the authentication module at some supercharger in Germany. For a day or so it would happily charge any brands car for free. This quickly spread via the internet and soon there was a wide variety of non-Tesla cars charging there.

One still wonders whether this just was a strange bug or some undercover test arranged by Tesla :)

In France charging station on public land (or assimilated) must be open to all vehicule, and there is a common information system to manage this.

http://www.avere-france.org/Site/Article/?article_id=7989

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000043475363

That's why tesla charger are on private managed lands (hotels, stores, ...).

So when are Apple going to make phones that use the same charging cables as everyone else?

EU is currently in the process of making USB-C charging mandatory. Apple is still in denial but they will follow suit eventually, in the EU at least.

They're very likely do it everywhere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_effect

It costs quite a bit to have different SKUs around the world, especially when one of the SKUs is for a major market. At some point it becomes more cost efficient to just cut out some of SKUs.

California has the same effect in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_effect

Cars are not iPhones though, and emissions control systems aren't slightly different models. In particular, Hong Kong has its own special dual-sim iPhone model that the rest of the world doesn't get. Only Apple knows what they'll do for USB-C, but they have per-Country SKUs for iPhones already so it wouldn't be out of the question.

They still try to have a limited number of SKUs. Suica (Japan) and CMDA (China/US) features are not limited to specific SKUs anymore, and the dual-SIM SKUs are available in India and China, two very large markets.

All new non dual-SIM iPhones have an eSIM too, so they're all technically dual SIM now.

I see, thanks for the source. Also in the reuters article:

> Tesla uses the CCS standard in Europe, allowing a wide range of cars to charge in stations without an adapter that uses a similar connector.

That also explains the announcement first in Europe as well.

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