Tesla Supercharger card payment about-face may bring pay screens to V4 stations

Not only is Europe getting Tesla V4 Superchargers first, but some might also be equipped with pay screens for card payments at long last. Back in March, Tesla walked away from US$6.4 million in state-level tax credits that California granted it for building out public charging infrastructure in underserved areas.

The incentive was approved for 420 stalls, yet the money came with strings attached. The California Clean Energy Commission (CEC) wanted Tesla to install pay screens and bank card terminals on subsidized Superchargers instead of only having the app payment option. "Unfortunately, due to unnecessarily cumbersome payment infrastructure requirements, we are unable to utilize this award," clarified Tesla at the time.

Now, however, the Tesla Owners UK club has nabbed the first V4 Supercharger pile with what seems like a card payment infrastructure preparation. There is a space with the Tesla logo that seems to be for a contactless payment terminal, as well as an eventual pay screen cutout above it.

The Tesla V4 Supercharger pile with rudimentary card payment infrastructure has made a cameo at the "largest motoring garden party in the world," the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. The Tesla Owners UK club took full credit for the idea and the execution, as they have been clamoring for pay screens on UK public charging infrastructure for a good while now, including for Tesla chargers.

In section 9b of their comments on the CMA-commissioned "Electric vehicle charging market study," they advise that the government only doles out subsidies if "all charging allows for instant payment via 'plugging in and the system recognising your vehicle,' or contactless card payment, [to] remove the push by some companies to use apps and RFID cards" in a not-so-subtle jab at Tesla.

Long story short, Tesla may starts equipping V4 Superchargers with pay screens for bank cards as a way to comply with local public charging requirements. It remains to be seen if it will do the same in the US when it starts installing V4 Superchargers here.

It has committed to opening at least 7,500 chargers to other EVs by the end of 2024 in order to scoop some of the billions in US government subsidies for a nationwide EV charging network. There are no such federal requirements just yet, though, so Tesla may just be picking its pay screen Supercharger battles where it counts.

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