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Opening Tesla Superchargers to most other EV brands was a great move that made life easier for a lot of EV drivers. However, there are some nuances that are not well publicized. If you're into nerdy details, or have had a weird experience with a non-Tesla at a Supercharger, check out these common questions.
- Why is my fast charge speed slower on a Tesla Supercharger?
If you have a car built on an 800 volt architecture (Hyundai Ioniqs, Genesis, Kia EV series), you will get capped at 100 kW at most Tesla Superchargers. This is because the Tesla network is 400 Volts based system and so are it’s cars (except the Cybertruck).
- Why can't I charge at every single Tesla station once I have an adapter.
You can only charge at Tesla stations that offer 250 kW charging and higher. These are known as V3 stations, V3+ stations, and V4 stations. They are the majority. But there are some V2 stations (150kW) that still exist and if you just type in Tesla station into google maps, you may very well get tricked into going to a 150 kW station. This nuance is frustrating! Be sure to limit chargers by kW if you are using an app like PlugShare.
- Why does my non-Tesla take up two spaces at a Supercharger?
Many pre-NACS charging port cars often have to take up two Tesla parking spots because the cords are not long enough to take up just one. Potentially, this can block you out of a Tesla site where everyone was parked just right for me to not get a spot even though stalls are open. The newest,V4 Tesla stations reportedly have longer cables and should solve this problem.
- Are there Tesla Supercharger that are more than 250 kW?
Tesla also has V3+ stations. These stations have the longer V4 cables/stalls but the older V3 charging cabinets. In our experience these can charge at 325 kW but not if the vehicle is on 800 Volt architecture. When searching for these stations, they are the ones labeled as 325 kW on the apps.
However, Tesla is now rolling out pure V4 stations. They just did their first one in California. Now these stations have V4 stalls and V4 cabinets, meaning they should be able to charge 800 V architecture vehicles at their rated charging rates.
