Tesla Superchargers Are Deemed Illegal in Germany | Hacker News Reader

Tesla Superchargers Are Deemed Illegal in Germany

electrek.co

13 pointscoolmike10 comments

- All chargers require a screen telling you the kilowatt hours bill rate.

- Tesla's Superchargers currently lack that (in-app only).

- Tesla is currently working to fix it. The German government is willing to wait for Tesla to fix it.

The full title says the "illegality" is a technicality, and I'd agree. This is a whole lot of nothing from any point of view.

It also requires periodic external validation of said meters per my understanding.

Add a fourth point

- They told Tesla to fix it and Tesla's fixing it. There's no sanction.

So it's a small lot of nothing.

(I expect there'll be a sanction if Tesla doesn't fix it eventually.)

TL;DR: Tesla's about to glue a bunch of smart-phones to their superchargers.

While the story is pretty uninteresting in the sense that it’s being fixed and there’s no sanctions, I find the story to be interesting in the technological use and regulation perspective.

- To use the charger you need the Tesla app.

- Tesla bills you through the app.

- Tesla shows you the charge rate in app.

- Tesla is in violation for not having the charge rate on the device.

This seems to be a case where the law is silly. In order to use the product, you need an app, and said app shows you the charge rate. The law says the product needs to show the charge rate.

It seems kinda silly to not include the app as part of the product. Maybe there’s an argument that the government office in charge of verifying that the machine bills at an accurate rate can’t reasonably audit an app, but it seems like the law is just “stuck in the past” in terms of how people use products and services today. Maybe the Germans would say this an intentional policy in some way (appify everything is bad for society?) but I’m not sure I’m convinced that’s intentional nor good.

At least in Canada you do not need the app to charge. The payment method is tied to the vehicle. Is it required in Germany?

The website linked says "non-Tesla EV owners can charge using the Tesla app." I'm not German so I can't investigate further.

The app requirement is silly, not the law.

The english reporting is weirdly focused on the "display" part.

If you bill people based on a measurement (be it power to a building or at a charger, fuel volume at a gas station, weight of product in a supermarket, pretty much whatever) there are standards for the measurement devices used, the devices need to be certified to fulfill those, are spot-checked occasionally, ... and various chargers (not just Tesla) don't use such a certified measurement device. While the display is part of the requirements, because the measurement device needs to be checkable standalone, it's not just "they aren't showing the numbers in the right places". (and in reverse, of course nothing stops them from showing the numbers in an app too - but they need to get them from a "proper" energy meter)

The title includes ‘technicality’ but this was editorialized out in the submission.

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