Tesla is opening Superchargers to other EVs in Canada

Tesla continues opening its proprietary charging network to third-party EVs. The latest market is Canada, where the government expects to see 750 Superchargers becoming available to any electric car driver by the end of 2025.

++ This article has been updated. Please continue reading below. ++

The news was hidden in a Government announcement on grants for over 3,000 new chargers in Ontario. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced the funding, including five existing EV projects with delivery organisations – cue in Tesla.

According to the notice, at least 350 of the 750 Supercharger stations accessible to cars from all manufacturers will have a 250 kW capacity, so-called V3 Superchargers. The opening will be ensured “through a combination of retrofits and new construction”. An open Supercharging route will be piloted between Sudbury and Ottawa for EV drivers later this year. From 2025, the available chargers will be distributed across Canada, and the course will include the Trans-Canada Highway from Ottawa to Calgary, writes the government.

At the beginning of March, Tesla officially opened its Supercharger network in the USA to non-Tesla vehicles. Via so-called Magic Docks, CCS-capable electric cars can now charge at selected charging stations. Tesla had started to equip its Superchargers with CCS adapters after the fast-charging standard became a condition of eligibility for Supercharger funding in the US.

According to data from the US government in March, Tesla will make at least 7,500 of its Superchargers and Destination Chargers in the United States available to all-electric vehicles by the end of 2024, including at least 3,500 V3 Superchargers. Tesla also wants to more than double its Supercharger network in the US by the end of 2024.

The latest and so far most surprising development on the subject of harmonisation is a new Tesla-Ford cooperation, which concerns both the Superchargers in Canada and those in the USA: Ford will install Tesla’s charge port in its new electric vehicles from 2025 and from spring 2024 Ford electric vehicles will be able to access Tesla Superchargers with adapters in the USA and Canada via its own FordPass and Ford Pro Intelligence services (and not via the Tesla app like other third-party brands). In doing so, Ford CEO Jim Farley said late last week that Ford drivers “will have access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in the US and Canada starting early next year”. This figure exceeds the number of Superchargers open in the future as promised by the respective governments.

As for Canada, today’s announcement represents nearly $25 million in federal investments provided through Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) and the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative. The government adds that funding was also provided by the 30 organisations and their partners, bringing these investments to over $35 million.

Tesla steadily extended its Supercharger network in Canada and opened a large corridor in 2020, connecting Vancouver to Halifax. The expansion provided a continuous connection from the Atlantic to the Pacific. At the same time, the earlier network was focused between Vancouver and Calgary in the west and between Halifax, Quebec and Montreal in the east.

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure has been on a steady expansion course in Canada, illustrated by recent plans to double the FLO charging network by 2027, as announced in April. In March, the retail chain 7-Eleven announced plans to set up a charging network across the US and Canada, and Ikea Canada is working on similar projects. The government of Quebec had also recently announced a $60 million investment to expand charging infrastructure in the region.

To date, Canada claims it has supported the installation of over 45,000 chargers across the country.

Update 01 September 2023

Tesla has opened the first Superchargers in Canada to drivers of other electric cars. According to local media, the Magic Docks, with built-in CCS adapter, were activated this week, opening up twelve stalls in Ontario to other EVs.

The Deep River and North Bay hubs are open but not cheap. Non-Tesla owners pay $0.63/kWh at Deep River or $0.67/kWh in North Bay. With a Tesla membership for $16.99 per month, non-Tesla drivers will pay the same flat rate as Tesla owners, $0.47/kWh at Deep River or $0.48/kWh at North Bay.

As outlined above, Tesla has agreed to open 750 Supercharger connectors across Canada by 2025.

canada.ca, driveteslacanada.ca (update)