Tesla is opening up a couple of its Supercharging network for use by all electric car drivers.
Superchargers, Tesla’s own-brand high-speed charging points, have long been one of the most compelling reasons to own a Tesla vehicle. The chargers are fast - up to 250kW, capable of adding as much as 275km of range in just 15 minutes - generally more reliable than other chargers, and crucially usually more available because only Teslas could use them.
That has been changing in recent years, as Tesla starts to make good on Elon Musk’s prior promise that the point of the Tesla brand isn’t merely to be successful in and of itself, but to improve and encourage the general uptake of electric motoring across the board. Pilot projects in Europe and the US have already seen some Supercharger locations opened up to all EV brands, and now that’s coming - in a small way - to Ireland.
Tesla currently has nine Supercharging locations in Ireland. Tesla initially said on Tuesday that it was opening five of these - Dublin, Cork, Athenry, Enfield and Tralee - to all EV drivers, encompassing 18 individual Supercharger connections.
However, after the initial announcement, Tesla Ireland issued a partial retraction, saying that in fact only two Irish Supercharger sites would be open to other EVs. Those will be the eight-charger site at Athenry, Co Galway and the six-charger site at Enfield, Co Meath.
While the earlier statement stated a more widespread opening up of the Supercharger network, Tesla said it was issued in error and there are no plans to open other superchargers to non-Teslas.
Those wishing to use one of the two Superchargers will need to download the Tesla mobile phone app and sign up for a Tesla account. Supercharging costs vary throughout the day, from a low of 57c per kWh at off-peak times, to a high of 64c per kWh at high demand times. These compare very favourably with the cost of using an ESB or Ionity high-speed charging point.
You can get Supercharging for less. There’s the option of a €12.99 monthly Supercharging Membership, which brings the per-kWh cost down to 42c off-peak, and 47c peak and which could be worth the price for regular users.
While the move is to be welcomed by the bulk of EV drivers in Ireland — an extra 18 high-speed chargers marks a significant percentage increase in the number of such facilities — there may be some disquiet among existing Tesla owners, many of whom see exclusive Supercharger access as one of the big draws of ownership. Will they be mollified by the fact that the majority of Supercharger points are still Tesla-only?
Story updated on Wednesday, December 20th, 2023
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