Electric vehicle giant Tesla has recently launched its new V4 Supercharger station in Europe. Initial reports had no idea about the Supercharger’s new feature until keen observers noticed that the units now feature credit card readers, marking a first for Tesla.
What makes this matter newsworthy is that integrating the said feature into its V4 Superchargers might offer state subsidies for the company.
Supercharger network progress
Tesla initially opened its now enormous Supercharger network in 2012 as a complimentary service to its customers.
The Musk-led automaker began demanding charging fees from Tesla owners later through an automatic process involving the connection of EVs and charging stations via the Tesla mobile app.
A decade had passed, which witnessed the company’s progressive development of its products and services.
In that sense, Tesla started running a pilot program that allowed non-Tesla EVs to access its originally brand-exclusive Supercharger network.
Recent developments also pushed the US government to tap Tesla to open a portion of its reliable charging network to all electric vehicles. Furthermore, its developed connector has recently gained strong support from state governments, charging companies, and rival automakers.
However, it must be noted that numerous markets have started mandating payment systems on EV charging stations. The automaker initially refused to adopt this concept, but recent developments suggest it has now conceded.
Why?
Recent reports claim that Tesla might lose its potential to obtain $6 million in funding from the California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program Rural Electric Vehicle Charging program for its planned four Supercharger stations with 420 stalls. The reason is simple: Tesla refuses to adhere to the state’s “payment infrastructure requirements.”
Now, Tesla seems to have a change of heart. Tesla fans noticed that the V4 Superchargers Tesla brought in the Goodwood Festival of Speed have credit card readers.
“Exclusive: We can reveal a new Tesla V4 Supercharger with contactless bank card area and space for a screen! Global debut at
@fosgoodwood, never been shown before! Nice work @TeslaCharging/ @Tesla / @elonmusk“
Tesla Owners UK
Interestingly, the EV giant has already begun launching its new Supercharger V4 station in Europe. However, this credit card reader feature has not been disclosed until now.
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Tesla’s initial refusal to adopt the manual payment concept might be because it is one of the most common failures of charging points, leading to the infamous unreliability issues of charging stations from other companies.
That said, it seems that Tesla just had no choice but to comply with the standards of some markets, enabling the company to qualify for some subsidies.
