Tesla drivers worry about wait times as Elon Musk opens up Supercharger network

Tesla Inc. has unnerved some of its customers with a decision to open up parts of its exclusive Supercharger network to other electric vehicles, with some fretting about future wait times to recharge their cars.

John Sergeant, a Tesla owner in Seattle, said Superchargers in his city are already overrun with demand and that opening up the network to others will compound the problem. 

"That’s the one thing that concerns me—whether it might add to congestion," he said, adding that Seattle is home to many EVs. Even as things are, he said, "they really need to put more superchargers in."

The White House on Wednesday said Elon Musk’s car company would open at least 3,500 new and existing 250-kilowatt fast-charging stations to qualify for a share of billions of federal dollars on offer to build a national network of electric-vehicle chargers. The infrastructure law President Biden signed in November 2021 allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging as part of an effort to build a network of 500,000 chargers across the country. 

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Tesla has a U.S. network of more than 17,700 fast chargers at over 1,650 locations that aren’t currently available to other vehicles. 

Mr. Musk, who at times has taken aim at President Biden, responded to a tweet from the president about the Supercharger development on Wednesday: "Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs via our Supercharger network," the Tesla chief executive said.

The company said it would more than double its U.S. Supercharger network by the end of next year to support the growth of its fleet and new EV customers. "Tesla Superchargers almost everywhere," Mr. Musk tweeted Wednesday. 

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Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about customer concerns.

Still, some Tesla drivers say there could be hiccups in accessing the charging locations because other vehicles will be using them. Darren Morgan, a Tesla Model Y owner and member of Tesla Owners Club in the East Bay, said he is concerned about the fact that not all EVs have their charging ports in the same location of the vehicle, which could lead to congestion and longer wait times at charging stations if drivers of non-Tesla vehicles have to take up multiple spaces to access chargers.

Tesla has said it is aware of congestion and longer wait times for chargers at certain locations. In some cases, the company deploys mobile Superchargers to add capacity or employs pricing strategies to encourage more off-peak use to mitigate wait times, the company has said. 

Mr. Musk two years ago signaled the company would open its network to others. "We knew it was coming and it’s been really fun to have full access to a service that’s not completely utilized," Mr. Morgan said. Still, he expressed understanding for Tesla’s latest decision. "You can’t sustain this sort of accessibility and make it economically feasible," Mr. Morgan said. 

The move to open its charging network comes as Tesla also is grappling with other issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the top car-safety regulator in the U.S., this week said Tesla would recall about 362,800 vehicles equipped with its high-profile Full Self-Driving feature after the agency voiced concerns about how the system operated in some driving circumstances. The regulator said Tesla would institute a fix through a software update it can deploy remotely. 

The charging station decision comes with upside to Tesla and could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue, said Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst for Bernstein. Tesla last month said that sales linked to supercharging contributed to record revenue and gross profit for its services segment as the company posted record quarterly profit.  

However, Mr. Sacconaghi added, there is also a risk that some Tesla owners feel like the experience of buying those vehicles is being compromised.

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For Karen Wolff, a Tesla Model Y owner living in San Jose, Calif., the charging station decision could affect future purchase decisions. "It has been such a joy when you’re on a road trip, charge while you’re having lunch and just be on your way. If we lose that, who cares if you have a Tesla or not?" she said. "If I can use a Kia there and I wasn’t able to use a Kia there before, I’m going to look at a Kia."