New York EV startup Bollinger Motors who is currently working on an all-electric utility vehicle decided to reach out to Elon Musk via Twitter. The request was informal but simple, “Can we use your charging stations?”
@elonmusk Can we use your charging stations?
— Bollinger Motors (@bollingermotors) August 16, 2018
As long as the Supercharger network has been in development Tesla has always toyed with the idea of allowing other automakers to use their chargers. All these years have gone by and not a single manufacture has joined the network.
Perhaps there have been private discussion between certain automakers and Tesla about using the Supercharger network, but as of now we don’t know. What we do know is that Bollinger has made a request for all of the public to see.
Superchargers have been free of use for Tesla owners from the start (as long as you bought a Tesla with a referral) but recently Tesla has started to implement a system to charge drivers for using the chargers. Having other manufactures jump on board might not provide additional income, but will help maintain the network.
Tesla will still operate the Superchargers, but will ask automakers to help with maintenance and to pay the electricity costs proportional to how many of their cars used the network. One other requirement is that any vehicle on the network should be able to receive the full capacity of the charge so that it doesn’t hog space because of its long charging times. The current Superchargers supply up 120kW with plans to increase the rate whenever the version 3 Superchargers come out. We don’t know the charging speed of the upcoming Bollinger B1, but one would hope that it will be at least 120kW. For example, the upcoming e-tron Quattro will be able to go up to 150kW and the Porsche Taycan will be capable of 350kW, so Bollinger should not want to fall behind.
Anyways, this seems like a good idea for both sides. Bollinger will be granted access to the most widespread and proven charging network in the US, a charging network that is 150 miles away from 99% of the population. Tesla will also be able to use Bollinger as an example for other potential automakers that may ask for access to the network as well. As of right now, Bollinger and Tesla do not make cars that compete with one another (at least until the Tesla pickup comes out), so Tesla shouldn’t have to worry about lost sales by allowing this to happen.
What do you guys think? Let us know down in the comments below.
