Tesla is gradually expanding its non-Tesla Supercharging pilot in North America, recently opening the first station in Alaska for CCS1-compatible electric vehicles.
The site in Chugiak, near Anchorage, is now equipped with V3 Supercharging stalls with Magic Dock built-in CCS1 adapters. The company wrote that “This Supercharger is open to Tesla vehicles and Non-Tesla vehicles with CCS compatibility.”
That’s one of the two Superchargers in the state, but the other one – in Soldotna – is not yet included in the non-Tesla Supercharging pilot.
The non-Tesla EV users can use the Supercharger in Chugiak, simply through the Tesla app (an account is necessary), which unlocks the CCS1 adapter.
Currently, there are about 15 Tesla Supercharging sites in the United States (mostly in the east), available for non-Tesla EVs, and two in Canada.
It’s worth noting that so far only two sites were opened for non-Tesla EVs in California. There is also one site in Texas and one in Utah.
In the near future, we should see a much higher number of Magic Dock deployments because compatibility with the CCS1 charging connector is crucial to be approved for public funding for new fast charging stations under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI).
Let’s recall that there must be at least four CCS1 outputs, ready to supply at least 150 kilowatts of power each (simultaneously).
In the longer term, the Magic Dock will become less important, because probably all new electric vehicles, starting in 2025 will be equipped with the Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging connector.
Multiple manufacturers already confirmed the upcoming switch from CCS1 to NACS and their combined market share represents the vast majority of all-electric car sales in North America. It’s now hard to imagine that the other manufacturers would stick with the CCS1 for longer than a few years.
It means that the Magic Dock is currently a temporary solution, and its most important element is to comply with the federal requirements to be eligible for public funds while expanding the Supercharging network.
Interestingly, a few states jumped ahead and started to work on additional requirements to equip new fast charging stations with NACS connectors as soon as possible, but until the SAE completes the standardization process and manufacturers develop their NACS-compatible chargers, it might be hard to enforce.