Tesla opening its Superchargers to other EVs soon as first CCS Magic Dock appears in California

After open-sourcing its proprietary charging kit for other EV makers and calling it the North American Charging System (NACS), Tesla is now gearing up to let those same automakers use the global CCS standard on Supercharger stalls in the US directly. The ingenious combined NACS/CCS Supercharger stations may be called Magic Docks and they seemingly include a detachable CCS adapter on the standard connector, so that both Tesla and non-Tesla electric cars can top up from the same stall.

While the rollout of the combined Magic Dock Superchargers was expected to happen last year, the month of January is still pretty close to that arbitrary timeframe. We may be on the cusp of witnessing the grand opening of Tesla's Supercharger network to all other electric vehicles soon, as CCS-compatible stalls have already gotten their first in-app filter placement.

When firing up the "Charge your Non-Tesla" option in the mobile app, users noticed that a Supercharger station nearby - in Hawthorne, CA - is listed as having "CCS compatibility" and going to the stall selection options revealed a Magic Dock picture. That's a first for the US, unlike in Europe where Tesla offers its cars and charging network with CCS connectors and adapters and has separate prices or subscription plans for non-Tesla vehicle owners.

The Hawthorne charging station is right next to Tesla's Design Studio in California, so it makes sense that the automaker may be equipping it with a Magic Dock first to gauge how it looks and behaves, as well as record its usage patterns. Still, that should be only a start and Tesla could soon open the floodgates of Supercharger CCS compatibility as it is fighting for a piece of the US government's US$7.5 billion pie earmarked for the creation of a cross-country EV charging network.

In order to qualify for the federal subsidies, Tesla is required to ensure station compatibility and it argued that it should not be forced to retrofit all its chargers with CCS adapters, but rather maintain a ratio of rebated and regular stalls at each Supercharger location. That's exactly what it seems to be doing at Hawthorne where only one pilot stall was listed with CCS compatibility and a Magic Dock image, both of which have subsequently been yanked as mentions in the app.

Last year, Tesla also leaked the subscription plan prices for non-Tesla vehicle drivers who may want to use its Supercharger network. This one was quickly retracted as well, but not before revealing that Tesla plans to have both a pay-as-you-go option with higher prices per kWh, as well as a discounted option provided that the owner signs up for a monthly Supercharger plan at US$0.99.

Given the first leaked Magic Dock station in the US and the appearance of a filter for Supercharger stalls with CCS compatibility, it may soon become clear if that monthly plan price has been a typo or a placeholder, as in Europe the subscription plan for non-Tesla vehicles is higher while the price per kWh is almost double what Tesla owners pay.

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