Tesla’s decision to shake up an industry: “Everyone will be affected”
- Tram Ho
Experts say that Tesla spotted a potential opportunity and they knew what they had in hand.
Tesla’s proprietary network of charging stations fuels the company’s rise as the dominant electric vehicle maker in the US. Now, Tesla is extending that network to rivals. This is a decision that will shake the fledgling electric vehicle charging industry.
The Supercharger network’s thousands of electric vehicle charging locations are only available for Tesla vehicles. But recently, CEO Elon Musk announced that he will allow Fords to charge at 12,000 stations by early 2024. Tesla has previously invited other electric car manufacturers to use at least 7,500 charging points from the end of 2024.
Tesla’s decision to share charging stations will disrupt electric vehicle charging systems outside of the company’s network. Especially companies like Chargepoint Holdings, EVgo Services and Electrify America. They are competing with each other to meet the demand for many manufacturers.
“All companies will be affected to some extent if Tesla’s network continues to expand and access more vehicles,” said Nick Nigro, founder of consulting firm Atlas Public Policy. Tesla is seeing an opportunity and they know they have a good charging service.”
The number of electric vehicle charging ports in the US divided by networks. Source: Atlas Public Policy/FT
According to information from Atlas, the US has about 139,000 private charging stations, with about 32,000 providing fast charging services within 30 minutes. In which, Tesla has operated more than 19,000 points.
Brendan Jones, director of Blink Charging, said Tesla’s decision is not a sign that fast charging has become as popular a service as gas stations. But public charging stations are essential to assuage consumers’ worries about the lack of parking spaces – a barrier to electric vehicle sales.
Electric vehicle drivers often find public charging stations but cannot use them. To avoid disappointing consumers, Ford has implemented a program called “Charge Angels”, which provides a service to check charging points for customers. Atlas’s Nigro said the new agreement between Tesla and Ford is an alarm shot for Ford vehicle charging service providers.
“There will be winners and losers in this race,” he added.
Refer to FT