U.S. President Joe Biden has given warm support to Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, acknowledging the EV, or electric vehicle company, for its contribution to expanding the nation’s charging network . While Biden has praised rivals such as GM and Ford, his praise for Tesla has not always been generous. But this change in approach has been underway for some time.
Biden elaborated on Twitter, which is owned by Musk, about the need to expand the presence of EV chargers in the country, while also ensuring that these help existing and new owners of battery-powered electric vehicles. For that, he singled out the Tesla Supercharger. “As we build out our EV charging network, we must ensure that as many chargers as possible work for as many drivers as possible,” he tweeted. “To do this, @elonmusk will open up a large portion of the @Tesla network to all drivers. That’s the big deal, and it’s going to make a big difference.”
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Musk responded quickly, emphasizing that the Tesla Charger is ready to welcome all makes of electric vehicles, not just Tesla models. “Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs through our Supercharger network,” he responded.
But while this isn’t the first time Musk has announced that Tesla chargers are also open to rival EV models, it has yet to do so in the US. If Tesla is to benefit from a $7.5 billion subsidy package from Washington, it must extend its proprietary fees to others. That’s what Biden is hoping for, as the US president wants to add 500,000 electric vehicle chargers in the country over the next few years. There will be 100,000 of these chargers in 2021.
Currently, Tesla has about 7,500 Supercharger stations that can quickly power electric vehicles. Local reports say the White House has received a pledge from Tesla that these – and about 17,700 fast chargers – will be available for all makes of electric vehicles.
First published date: Feb 16, 2023 at 09:55 AM CST
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