Key argument of Tesla, whose charging network delights electric vehicle enthusiasts, Elon Musk’s “superchargers” can now count on the conversion of a much more unexpected group: its own competitors, a victory for the manufacturer American which however remains to be confirmed.
Ford was the first, at the end of May, to announce a partnership with the group of Elon Musk… via a playful audio discussion between the bosses of the two companies on Twitter, the social network under the thumb of the multi-billionaire.
Mary Barra, the boss of General Motors (GM), used the same method to unveil a similar partnership with Tesla a few days later, the exchange being limited this time to six minutes.
There start-up Rivian, which makes electric pickups, followed suit on Tuesday.
Tesla will open a large part of its network of “superchargers” in the United States and Canada to customers of all these companies, who will be able to connect to them by an adapter at first, then directly when the manufacturers have installed on their carries the appropriate equipment.
These partnerships allow them to offer their customers more stations to recharge their vehicle with electricity and at the same time offer Tesla a new source of income, which should increase further.
Reliability
For Mary Barra, it would be good if the system developed by Tesla, known as NACS, became widespread, because it would thus facilitate “mass adoption” of electric vehicles.
Already, the state of Texas has planned for government-funded fast-charging stations to be equipped with a NACS connector, in addition to the currently more common one, the Combined Charging Connector or CCS, AFP told AFP. a representative of the State Department of Transportation.
The rise of Tesla’s “supercharger” network reflects its reputation for reliability compared to other charging station operators, as well as their slow expansion.
It also gave a further boost to Tesla’s stock, which has jumped about 40% since the announcement of the partnership with Ford.
For several industry experts, however, it would be premature to attribute the victory to Tesla.
“We may be headed in that direction, but it’s still too early to say that Tesla and NACS have won,” said Loren McDonald, an electric vehicle industry consultant.
Technological secrets
Other manufacturers with big ambitions in the electric vehicle segment, such as Volkswagen and Hyundai, continue to prefer the CCS system.
“We will end up having only one system, but we don’t know how long that will take,” agrees John Eichberger, director of the Institute for Transport and Energy.
According to him, the rise of the Tesla system could in particular lead to reluctance on the part of the authorities responsible for competition.
For the NCAS to become the norm, it would be necessary in particular that Elon Musk agrees to share the technological secrets, he says.
The CCS system was until recently considered to be the one that would become the reference, in particular because it is explicitly required in the $5 billion program to aid the development of the network of chargers in the United States presented in 2021 by President Joe Biden.
But in February, the White House struck a deal with Elon Musk’s group for the electric car maker to open its own network to other brands by the end of 2024.
The lack of charging points is indeed considered a major obstacle to the transition to electricity in the country. In a report in January, S&P Global estimated that the number of stations should ideally quadruple in the country between 2022 and 2025.
The number of terminals “is increasing, but very slowly compared to the number of vehicles arriving on the market”, remarks Bertrand Rakoto of the Ducker Carlisle firm.
In addition to the problems in obtaining supplies of key materials, terminal operators are struggling to negotiate attractive rates with electricity suppliers, and face many uncertainties about the complex deployment of the government aid plan.
The Ministry of Energy is “working hard” to put it in place and seven jurisdictions have started the bidding process, a spokesperson told AFP. But no station funded by this plan is yet under construction, according to Loren McDonald.
For the consultant, the attention given to the construction of charging stations to appease motorists fearful of running out of energy is important. But, in his eyes, priority should be given to the installation of chargers in homes and buildings.