Volkswagen EVs to Get Tesla Supercharger Access

[eddiet1212]

Volkswagen EVs to Get Tesla Supercharger Access​

Volkswagen EV drivers will be able to power up at Tesla Superchargers starting this spring, opening up nearly 18,000 new public charging options for them.

We get access to the network in March, but we won't have official adapters available until early summer around June," Mark Gillies, director of public relations at VW Group of America, told us here at CES.

Volkswagen's launch timeline is not yet public on the Tesla website, which lists Mercedes-Benz as the next brand to get access. Ford, Rivian, General Motors, Volvo, Polestar, and Nissan drivers were the first to get it, in that order. All EV makers will get access by the end of 2025, to the surprise of some Tesla drivers.

Gillies couldn't speak to timelines for Audi, Porsche, and Scout, which fall under the same parent company as VW. The four brands co-announced their deal with Tesla in December 2023, so it's likely all will get access around the same time

https://www.pcmag.com/news/volkswagen-evs-to-get-tesla-supercharger-access-in-march-ces-2025

 

[Dana]

Volkswagen EVs to Get Tesla Supercharger Access​

Volkswagen EV drivers will be able to power up at Tesla Superchargers starting this spring, opening up nearly 18,000 new public charging options for them.

We get access to the network in March, but we won't have official adapters available until early summer around June," Mark Gillies, director of public relations at VW Group of America, told us here at CES.

Volkswagen's launch timeline is not yet public on the Tesla website, which lists Mercedes-Benz as the next brand to get access. Ford, Rivian, General Motors, Volvo, Polestar, and Nissan drivers were the first to get it, in that order. All EV makers will get access by the end of 2025, to the surprise of some Tesla drivers.

Gillies couldn't speak to timelines for Audi, Porsche, and Scout, which fall under the same parent company as VW. The four brands co-announced their deal with Tesla in December 2023, so it's likely all will get access around the same time

https://www.pcmag.com/news/volkswagen-evs-to-get-tesla-supercharger-access-in-march-ces-2025

Just keep in mind only Superchargers with Magic Dock can be used by other OEMs. Pretty limited number right now. But hopefully by 2027 more will have been retrofitted. But I wouldn’t bank on perpetual access…Musk is a take his toys and go home kind of guy when his ego gets bruised…the cave rescue of some kids a few years back was pretty juvenile. He called a rescue diver a pedophile when they didn’t want to use his mini sub.

 

[J Alynn]

Just keep in mind only Superchargers with Magic Dock can be used by other OEMs. Pretty limited number right now. But hopefully by 2027 more will have been retrofitted. But I wouldn’t bank on perpetual access…Musk is a take his toys and go home kind of guy when his ego gets bruised…the cave rescue of some kids a few years back was pretty juvenile. He called a rescue diver a pedophile when they didn’t want to use his mini sub.

Sounds about typical!

 

[LastDayScout]

Just keep in mind only Superchargers with Magic Dock can be used by other OEMs. Pretty limited number right now. But hopefully by 2027 more will have been retrofitted. But I wouldn’t bank on perpetual access…Musk is a take his toys and go home kind of guy when his ego gets bruised…the cave rescue of some kids a few years back was pretty juvenile. He called a rescue diver a pedophile when they didn’t want to use his mini sub.

It is my understanding that the magic dock super chargers just do not require and adapter. But, if you have the adapter you can use any supercharger as long as your brand has been certified to use superchargers. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Sockdoc]

It is my understanding that the magic dock super chargers just do not require and adapter. But, if you have the adapter you can use any supercharger as long as your brand has been certified to use superchargers. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Nope. First gen superchargers don’t support other vehicles. Lots of technical reasons I don’t fully understand, voltage, amps etc. but hopefully we will see upgrades at those first gen supercharger locations in the coming years!

 

[oldgeeksguide]

Nope. First gen superchargers don’t support other vehicles. Lots of technical reasons I don’t fully understand, voltage, amps etc. but hopefully we will see upgrades at those first gen supercharger locations in the coming years!

I think first GEN uses different communication standard. There’s a lot of digital messages going back-and-forth to get things working, which makes it more complicated than just a simple adapter. Later generations use the same communication standard as CCS, I believe though there’s always little differences in implementation and interpretation of the standard, which is why sometimes things don’t work. Magic dock basically has a built-in adapter and seems to accept arbitrary CCS brands. But for modern non-magic Tesla chargers having an adapter isn’t enough if the brand doesn’t have an agreement in place.

Basically, they tried having a walled garden approach, but eventually starting moving away from that towards a standard that they created, but for now we’re kind of in the middle of that transition. Fortunately, the plug they created is a big improvement over CCS, and they were finally willing to allow it to become a public standard rather than using legal means to prevent others from using it.

 

[Sockdoc]

I think first GEN uses different communication standard. There’s a lot of digital messages going back-and-forth to get things working, which makes it more complicated than just a simple adapter. Later generations use the same communication standard as CCS, I believe though there’s always little differences in implementation and interpretation of the standard, which is why sometimes things don’t work. Magic dock basically has a built-in adapter and seems to accept arbitrary CCS brands. But for modern non-magic Tesla chargers having an adapter isn’t enough if the brand doesn’t have an agreement in place.

Basically, they tried having a walled garden approach, but eventually starting moving away from that towards a standard that they created, but for now we’re kind of in the middle of that transition. Fortunately, the plug they created is a big improvement over CCS, and they were finally willing to allow it to become a public standard rather than using legal means to prevent others from using it.

Thank you for the explanation. Sounds about right. I think the higher voltage superchargers are the newer ones which have the updated communication protocols. My mother in law lives 2.5 hours away with a supercharger in her town, unfortunately it is first gen we would have to driver another 30 minutes in the opposite direction to get a charger we could use, unless we had an 300+ mile option (and going 80 on the freeway). Due to this we have held on a full BEV. Once that supercharger is upgraded then it makes b a lot more sense

 

[LastDayScout]

Nope. First gen superchargers don’t support other vehicles. Lots of technical reasons I don’t fully understand, voltage, amps etc. but hopefully we will see upgrades at those first gen supercharger locations in the coming years!

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Mousehunter]

We have a couple years for Tesla to upgrade gen one V3 superchargers. The bigger issue, perhaps, is the still older V2 chargers. At least v3 systems have a somewhat reasonable charge rate - which means they also have at least a reasonable power source. The V2 chargers don't have the power available to charge faster - and I really don't see ANY push to update those. Unless they get far more utilization, the venues that host them are not going to push for them getting replaced - especially if they have to cost share that replacement in any way (such as put in infrastructure so they have access to more current).

So I simply don't see any overnight charging at a hotels on Tesla chargers in the next few years.

 

[oldgeeksguide]

We have a couple years for Tesla to upgrade gen one V3 superchargers. The bigger issue, perhaps, is the still older V2 chargers. At least v3 systems have a somewhat reasonable charge rate - which means they also have at least a reasonable power source. The V2 chargers don't have the power available to charge faster - and I really don't see ANY push to update those. Unless they get far more utilization, the venues that host them are not going to push for them getting replaced - especially if they have to cost share that replacement in any way (such as put in infrastructure so they have access to more current).

So I simply don't see any overnight charging at a hotels on Tesla chargers in the next few years.

Well, there (overnight at hotels) you might be talking about destination chargers, which are a whole different thing. Destination chargers are AC and don’t involve as much complexity, so it’s easier to adapt those across car brands. On CCS the ac chargers actually have a different plug that’s a subset of the dc charging plug, but with NACS they just re task the DC pins for AC. Bottom line is it only takes a relatively simple adapter to convert between plug types and the communication is simpler, so it’s easier to work across brands.