Tesla is set to open a portion of its Canadian Supercharger network to non-Tesla EVs in a new effort to expand accessibility to electric vehicle chargers in the country.
Tesla operates the most robust electric vehicle, charging network globally, and it started testing demand for non-Tesla EVs to charge at its locations through a pilot program in Europe several years ago.
The ability to charge non-Tesla electric vehicles at the company’s Superchargers expanded the other continents as well, and made its way to North America earlier this year.
Tesla opened several U.S. Supercharging locations to non-Tesla EVs in order to qualify for a slice of the $7.5 billion funding from the federal government through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Now, Tesla is planning to open 750 locations to non-Tesla EVs across Canada by the end of 2025.
The Canadian government said in a release today:
“As part of this collaborative effort, Tesla will open a portion of its existing Canadian Supercharger network to non-Tesla electric vehicles, wherever site hosts allow. Later this year, an open Supercharging route will be piloted for EV drivers between Sudbury and Ottawa. Then, by the end of 2025, 750 charging connectors in public locations will be made available to non-Tesla EV drivers, through a combination of retrofits and new construction, of which at least 350 will be 250kW Superchargers. The open chargers will be distributed across Canada, and the route will include the Trans-Canada Highway from Ottawa to Calgary.”
The opening of the Supercharger network by Tesla not only helps explain the availability of chargers overall for EV drivers, but also helps create new revenue streams for the electric automaker.
There is also a greater potential for the partnership between Tesla and the Canadian government. Earlier this week, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla would potentially announce the location of a new Gigafactory by the end of 2023.
Canada has been rumored to be one of several potential locations for the new electric vehicle manufacturing facility, but India seems to be the favorite.
Tesla meet another groundbreaking announcement in relation to its Supercharging network yesterday. Ford electric vehicle owners will have access to Tesla superchargers getting in spring next year, and the Detroit based automaker also plans to adopt Teslas connector with new vehicle starting the following year.