TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Mar 31, 2023

A YouTuber charged a non-Tesla EV at a Supercharger and it 'descended into chaos'

A YouTuber charged a non-Tesla EV at a Supercharger and it 'descended into chaos'

Tesla began opening some of its Superchargers to non-Tesla EVs last month, but it could quickly become a headache for Tesla owners.
Tesla began opening some of its Superchargers in New York and California to non-Tesla electric cars last month, but a recent video shows how ultra-fast charging stations could quickly become a headache for Tesla owners.

Youtuber Marques Brownlee took his Rivian R1T to a Tesla Supercharger in New York last week and he said on Twitter that the visit "descended into chaos" when other non-Tesla drivers showed up as well.

In the video, Brownlee said he had to take up two parking spots next to a charger because the charging port on his EV was on the front driver's side of his vehicle while the charging station was equipped for Teslas that have the charging port on the back-left corner of the car.

Brownlee said that he felt the experience made his Rivian a better car because he would no longer have to rely on more "risky" public chargers, but it could deter Tesla owners.

"Suddenly you're taking up two spots for what would normally be one," Brownlee said. "If I was like a huge Tesla person I would probably be worried about you know my own Tesla experience. Will it get worse because more people are charging? Potentially, you'll have more people waiting in line more people taking up more spots."

The situation only got worse when a Lucid EV and a F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck showed up. For the F-150 Lightning driver, Tesla's retrofitted charging cord was only long enough to reach the car's charging port when the driver had pulled so far up the front of his car was practically touching the charging stand and the cord was pulled completely taut — a scenario the driver said felt too risky.

In a separate YouTube video, the same F-150 Lightning driver, Tom Moloughney, who runs EV charging channel State of Charge, said he might feel more comfortable pulling his car up to the station sideways — a move that could take up three spots at once.

Similarly, the cable was also not long enough for the Lucid driver, according to Moloughney.

"If you're a Tesla owner it's not a good day," Moloughney said. "Soon that exclusivity of being able to drive wherever you want and plug in it's going to get more complicated because Superchargers are going to start to get clogged up with non-Tesla vehicles. "

Ultimately, Brownlee said the transition is going to take a lot of finagling, but he was happy with the charging experience for his Rivian, which took about 30 minutes and $30 to charge from 30% to 80%.

"This is probably the first time and not the last time that you're going to see this shuffling of who can charge where," Brownlee said. "Hopefully people are nice about it, but there's gonna be a bit of an etiquette question when you've got cars that are not exactly optimized trying to figure it out."

Musk called Brownlee's video "interesting" on Twitter. The billionaire agreed to begin opening up some of the electric-car maker's Superchargers to non-Tesla owners earlier this year. Previously, Tesla's chargers — which account for a large portion of EV chargers in the US — had been primarily accessible only to Tesla owners.

While regular Tesla stations have always been open to non-Tesla EVs through a special adapter, the carmaker pledged to make its ultra-fast supercharging stations compatible with other electric cars by the end of 2024.

Insider previously reported that its charging network is one of its biggest advantages over EV rivals — from faster and more accessible charging stations to more amenities.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
FTX assets worth $3.5bn held by Bahamas securities regulator
Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried finally arrested in Bahamas after U.S. files charges
Corruption works: House Financial Services Chair Waters doesn't plan to subpoena her donor, Sam Bankman-Fried, to testify at hearing on FTX collapse
Yellen hints at ‘national security’ probe into Twitter purchase
Elon Musk reinstates Donald Trump's Twitter account.
George W. Bush and Barack Obama will hold back-to-back disinformation conferences
Solar + Powerwall ensures you never lose power, even if the grid goes down
This man paid for strangers' grocery and it moved them to tears
Meta introduces a new version of Mark Zuckerberg
Virtual Reality on billboards: BMW advertisement on Times Square
Apple CEO Tim Cook says coding should be taught as early as elementary school: 'It's the most important language you can learn'
Apple Executive Resigns After Viral TikTok Shows Him Making Crude Jokes
Huawei is not only better technology, but also protecting users better: Apple Warns Of Security Flaw For Iphones, Ipads And Macs
Mark Zuckerberg warns many teams will ‘shrink’ as Meta revenue drops
Elon Musk reportedly begged for forgiveness after his affair with Google co-founder Sergey Brin's wife
×