Tesla’s superchargers have a weak point
Tesla opens its Supercharger for e-cars from other brands and manufacturers. This is actually great news for drivers. But if you don’t drive a Tesla and want to charge up at one of the charging stations, you could soon face problems.
The charging infrastructure is being expanded, but so far it has not been able to keep up with the speed at which more and more consumers are opting for an e-car. In this situation, it is fitting that Tesla is working on releasing its own charging stations to other brands as well.
Charging e-cars with obstacles: Tesla charging cables are not secured with other brands
Tests for this are currently underway in France, Norway and the Netherlands – our western neighbors recently being the first to do so nationwide. In Norway, however, a problem arose during the test phase that cannot be solved without further ado.
As noted by well-known Tesla YouTuber Bjørn Nylandthe charging cable of the V2 Supercharger can be easily pulled off by unauthorized persons. With Teslas, the cable connection is protected against this. But if, as in the example, you charge a Kia EV6 – which has just been voted best car of the year 2022 – anyone could pull off the cable in passing and it would “discharge”:
Since this is a classic “hardware problem”, it cannot simply be solved by Tesla or the manufacturer of the respective electric car via an over-the-air update. the The simplest solution would probably be a charging adapter, which can be easily attached to the Tesla charging cable and securely locks the cable to your e-car.
Charging customers must pay attention to their power supply
However, the Supercharger charging stations are known for working intelligently, especially in combination with a Tesla electric car. Tesla drivers only have to make the connection, i.e. plug the cable into the charging port of their Model S, 3, X or Y. All communication between the car and the charging station, including billing, then takes place automatically.
The probability that the column will not “notice” if someone removes the cable from the electric car without authorization, even if it is not a Tesla, is therefore rather low. Customers must be comfortable don’t worry about strangers charging at their expense. Nevertheless, it can be annoying if someone unauthorized removes the cable unnoticed and you don’t return to the fully charged electric car as planned.
