The launch of the non-Tesla electric vehicle Supercharging option in the United States is just around the corner, as the first installation was spotted in New York.
According to Reddit user u/Fxsx24, stalls at the Supercharging station in Verona, New York were retrofitted with the “Magic Dock” – a built-in CCS Combo 1 adapter, which allows charging non-Tesla cars with a CCS1 fast charging inlet.
Tesla‘s cars in North America are natively equipped with the company’s proprietary standard (recently named NACS), so the Tesla-CCS1 adapter is a key element to make the stations compatible with other electric vehicles.
Tesla enthusiasts already visited the site and captured some footage of the “Magic Dock:”
The company placed signs that point out a QR code, which takes non-Tesla users to a special page with more info.
According to the website, users have to download the Tesla App, create an account and sign in. Then, they can use the “Charge Your Non-Tesla” feature.
For Tesla drivers, the use of the Supercharging stalls will be basically the same as usual.
In the case of non-Tesla users, after they select a stall, the “Magic Dock” adapter will “show its magic.” As shown in the video below, the CCS1 adapter (plug) is attached on top of Tesla’s NACS plug in this scenario (it will remain like that until the user puts the plug back into the stall, which prevents the stealing of the adapter).
According to the reports, Tesla’s team was on-site in New York, checking charging compatibility with some non-Tesla electric cars, like Rivian R1T.
It’s not clear when the system will be launched (the feature must be officially displayed in the Tesla App), but we guess that the time is near.
The “Magic Dock” also appears to be relatively simple to retrofit to all Tesla Supercharging stations in North America. It provides a charging capability of up to 250 kilowatts (kW).
Tesla already opened its network (some of the stations) in select European markets and in Australia, but it was much easier due to the same connector in new Tesla and non-Tesla cars (CCS2).
In the US, Tesla also promised Supercharging for non-Tesla electric vehicles. Thanks to this move, the company is expected to become eligible for federal funds for the expansion of the charging infrastructure.
Not everything is solved yet. Apart from the basic connector compatibility (mechanical and electrical) and an app to handle payment, there might be other issues – physical compatibility related to the short charging cable and different locations of the charging inlet in various non-Tesla electric vehicles.
We have to wait and see how those things will sort out in the long term.
