Tesla Superchargers: HOW TO Charge Your Non-Tesla EV & Other Questions Answered!

[@Rocksock531]

Thank you, you covered any questions I might have, really good stuff.

[@cannygrowabeard]

The Norwegian sites where there are four or more superchargers located remotely in a rectangular pattern seems to be a better layout for flexible charging, than end on parking in bays. At the end of the day, these sites were conceived with Tesla in mind, not others. That spare unmarked bay at the end is very helpful though.

[@jonathantaylor1998]

An excellent, explanatory video, as always, Martin - you guys do THE best i3 videos, for sure...! 👍 As you clearly explained at the start, though, is that the i3 can only accept a max 50kW charge speed, so the ultra-rapid power Tesla network chargers really don't give an i3 driver any advantage over the likes of an Instavolt 50kW rapid (other than, potentially, charge point reliability...!!) So, yes... an interesting 'novelty', but not really worth paying the premium for, perhaps... 🤔

[@glenf4115]

It would be great to see this start ramping up here in North America but to be honest the last time I used DC fast charging was over a year ago when it was still free as it was amusing to watch the percentage climb so fast (and didn't cost anything.)

[@DavidWilliams-cs5uf]

Thank you Martin, another excellent video and useful for the i3 fraternity. Unfortunately, when I last checked, Tesla had yet to open up any general use chargers anywhere in the entire southwest of England, so for us it isn't worth paying for their subscription yet.

[@Skyking6976]

Thanks Martin…this is HUGE!!! Musk promised to open up his chargers last fall. Of course in the States there is a pile of government money for chargers that are open to all vehicles. Musk simply has to change the connector or provide an adapter and the money is his without actually installing “new” chargers. A win for all.

[@royd63uk]

Very useful as an emergency stop though (if near to one)

[@GavCritchley]

Great video. Easy to understand. Very good.

[@StuMunro]

Thanks! Helpful begineers guide.

[@wheelz9417]

Good video. Did you notice any charging bays that disabled users could use? Few and far between from what I have seen so far.😞

[@wiselyauto]

Unfortunately did not notice any dedicated charging bays for disabled drivers at this Tesla site, but Gridserve has started installing at least one per site at their new charging hubs / electric forecourts!

[@ashb8572]

Thanks for this great content. I think the port location on cars maybe a problem going forward as sites get busier. I think it's best to find a non tesla charger to avoid using up 2 bays if its very busy 😀

[@christopherretallack3243]

Very useful 😊

[@PhotoJohn80]

Man you guys are so lucky. With politics and mess we may never get to charge other EVs in the US on the Tesla network

[@wiselyauto]

Never say never... insideevs.com/news/570704/tesla-federal-funds-us-supercharger-public-use/

[@mikehill8423]

Tried at Banbury and also Manchester Trafford with my i3 94Ah - neither worked unfortunately. I also have a Tesla M3, so the app is set up correctly with payment already on file. Won't handshake with the i3 and says 'no car detected' .

[@antec51]

it was the same for me in France, Saint-Quentin (02), "no car detected" with i3 94Ah 2018, it was in september 2022. Did you try again ?

[@londonwestman1]

I've had the same issue a couple of times. Going to try again tomorrow in the hopes something's changed. (Also at Manchester Trafford.) Like yours, mine is a 94Ah (with REX)

[@garrycroft4215]

I will stick with Osprey, Genie Point and Shell at 25p kwh using the Bonnet app.

[@colintwyning9614]

You can get Shell at 25p kWh

[@garrycroft4215]

@@colintwyning9614 yes

[@colintwyning9614]

@@garrycroft4215 thats pretty good. I will not have home charging soon, will need to find out the best public chargers.

[@garrycroft4215]

@@colintwyning9614 I can’t charge at home, the Bonnet app is perfect for me as there’s 2 Osprey rapids 0.7 miles from my apartment. The Genie point rapids are at half of the Morrisons stores. There isn’t a Shell anywhere near me yet. So £50 per month gets me 800 miles or £0.0625p per mile. Any unused rolls over. This month was free with a code, they regularly give £15 off or half price next charge etc. I really don’t know how they do it.

[@xchopp]

I believe the cable can't be unplugged if the car is locked, which would be the usual case. Or, at least, that's how most EV ports work. Or is the Tesla charger different? That would seem like a weird oversight (then again, they did place those EVSEs in a strange way, in between the stalls, instead of the logical way: at the back!).

[@wiselyauto]

You are correct that if the vehicle is locked, the cable is secured in the port as well. The "problem" is that anyone can come up to the car and stop the charge by pressing the circular button on the cable without any need for authentication. (To be fair, Gridserve chargers operate the same way, so hopefully if there is enough capacity, it will be a rare occurrence.)

[@John-FourteenSix]

Interesting video. Can you charge your i3 using a contactless card? I.e. do you have to have a smart phone and a tesla account? Thank you.

[@wiselyauto]

If you want to charge your i3 on Tesla's Superchargers, you do need to have a smartphone with the app set up to start and stop the charging session.

[@John-FourteenSix]

Appreciate your video. Thank you.

[@thegores34]

Thanks for these great videos about EVs and especially the i3. I wonder could you do a video about differences between i3 and i3s? I have 2017 94Ah i3 and thinking about upgrade to 2019 120Ah i3s. I already understand the spec differences but I'm more interested to understand the differences in the driver experience, here are some questions I have: 1) How much better handling is the i3s? i3 is great fun to drive but I would like a bit less body roll in corners for zipping around town and country lanes. Also sometimes the i3 makes scary sideways moves when it hits a bump, is i3s better? 2) How much extra real world range could I expect from 120Ah vs 94Ah? And how much range difference between i3s and i3 with same batt? 3) Does the i3s feel much faster than i3? For example off the lights and also at higher speeds. 4) Difficult to find but in winter does the heat pump option give much extra range? Not sure I believe the 30% extra range number from BMW. 5) Finally I'm also thinking about model Y, obviously this has much faster acceleration, but it's also much heavier whereas i3s is light and nimble. I see you've driven both, how do they compare on 'fun to drive factor', when I say fun to drive I mean it gives you confidence around corners.

[@richardpiper4828]

Nartin is your man to answer these questions but I moved from a 60ah REx to a 94ah i3s REx and can definitely vouch for the s being better tied down and less bouncy. Handling much tighter as the wheels are wider and the suspension lower. The trade off though is a firmer ride. If I was driving predominantly short journeys or in towns/cities the standard car is more comfortable. I came to the i3 from ho hatches and whilst the useable performance of my original i3 did not disappoint the car understeered more than I was used to or liked. You won’t really notice the small power differential between he i3 and the i3s although the sport button does sharpen the “throttle” response. Where the extra power does though come in useful is at the top end when it is easier to sail pass HGVs at 56mph. The i3’s acceleration tails off earlier than in an iCE car and the standard car’s ultimate speed is I believe 94mph whereas the i3s will with a trailing wind might just hit the ton. Any loss of range between the two models with the same battery capacity is marginal and really down to the slightly poorer aerodynamic efficiency of the s - essentially down to the wider tyres. If the i3 is going to be your sole car I would sway more to the i3s.

[@wiselyauto]

We will do a separate video on the differences between the S and standard models, but in summary, the suspension is noticeably stiffer but the difference in power is minimal. The heat-pump is a nice to have but definitely not essential, especially with the biggest battery. 30% extra range is a bit optimistic in our view, and keep in mind, even with the heat-pump, the winter range will still be lower than summer. We have a few videos already up on our Model Y + will do more in the future, so stay tuned for those if you want to know more details about it.

[@hungrysurfer9471]

Gylnn instead of spending thousands extra for an i3s you could take the car LION Smart and upgrade the battery from 33kw to 100kw with over 700km range. They also have 126kwh and 168kwh options. But you will still be limited to CCS 50kw charging.

[@oui.monsieur]

Do you shot all your footage with the dji osmo handheld?

[@groovyboovy]

Cheers, very usefull for me

[@roygardiner4002]

What was the start charge level, end level and time it took to charge?

[@pretsas]

Tesla owners can schedule ahead to book with superchargers if I'm not mistaken? Can other EV owners do this? That would be the simple app mod if it does become a problem for Tesla owners surely?

[@rui569]

no schedule ahead

[@Sam-tx1tn]

No

[@kwenger7088]

I’m hopeful tesla brings this to North America soon. Although we have the complication of a ccs adaptor here.

[@rp9674]

The adapter I need is w/ an inverter to 220VAC j-1772

[@antonymcneillis]

What accessories are available and useful for the i3? Things like rubber matts,seat covers…. Etc

[@wiselyauto]

There is a wide spectrum - some more useful than others. We will probably cover our picks in a dedicated video.

[@sveinjohansen6271]

I have a bmw i3 94ah in norway. I tried this in Lavik, and it didn’t charge. Ccs cable and plug from the Tesla charger. The handshake didn’t communicate properly.

[@londonwestman1]

Me too in Cambridge, UK. I went through what seemed to be the correct procedure, plugging the i3 in when it told me, but the app went through 2 minutes of handshake and then said "car not found."

[@sveinjohansen6271]

@@londonwestman1 gotta select the terminal before plugging in. the terminal needs to know its a non-tesla before plugging in.

[@hometechUK]

No Tesla & no chargers over 50kwh within 30 miles & only 2 50kwh & I live I. The largest town in North Wales. The charging networks is terrible.

[@kennethericsson3587]

Hello My Tesla App not looks like yours I missing a lot of buttons and menue items. "No supercharger". I have Android .. Whats wrong?

[@kennethericsson3587]

I have solved the problem.. The problem was an old Tesla acount that I have and is still active.. so when i tried to login to the old acount with a another mail address and diffrent password. The app started to work correctly.. strange.. How can the app know me? diffrent email and diffrent password?

[@garycarter6206]

Hi do all the Tesla superchargers use CCS or are some type 2?

[@wiselyauto]

Some v2 stations have both, Type 2 and CCS, but the Type 2 is only compatible with Tesla Model S's and X's (as it is supplying DC over the Type 2, not AC).

[@MILKYBAR1969]

Can't get the app set but have registered an account 😡

[@colintwyning9614]

It is good that Tesla are opening up, but to encourage EV use we need much more. Can you imagine Ford only petrol garages, Pumps that you cannot use due to it's position, prices varying from £1 a litre if you have membership to £3 if you don't and some pumps only running at 1 litre a minute etc. I love my EV but i find Availability, prices and speed of charging way behind my old petrol days when i just filled up anywhere at very similar prices and plenty of alternatives.

[@mk1photography62]

I drive an E golf with the same chagrer port location i will only ever use this network if i am in a difficult position and will of course use common sense and stay with my car etc

[@AlbaTech]

Tesla haven’t thought this through properly. As well as non-preconditioned/slow charging EV’s taking up chargers for longer, the short cables will force non-Tesla owners to park out of sync - as you did, taking up two spaces by blocking the charger on your passenger side. Aviemore is one of the sites and it is not ‘large’. With only four superchargers, all it takes is two badly parked non-Teslas and all four SC’s become unavailable to Tesla drivers.

[@wiselyauto]

We sincerely hope, that if the sites end up busy all parties will use common sense to get along. But agreed, that Tesla needs to work on addressing these issues in the long-term.

[@AlbaTech]

@@wiselyauto your faith in humanity is heartwarming.

[@glenf4115]

Looking at photos of the Aviemore location and there are some pictures with most stalls taken up by ICE cars. It looks like there are bigger problems than non-tesla EVs at that location.

[@hungrysurfer9471]

Electric at 61p per kwh is much more expensive than using a diesel car. Thats £61 to charge a 100 kwh car that only drives 250 miles.

[@John-FourteenSix]

At the moment, the break even point is 50p/kWh compared to the Golf GTD (Diesel) I owned for example. Golf GTD £60 to fill the tank = 450miles typical average driving. More expensive on the motorway! EV 40kWh X 50p / kWh = £20 for 150 miles range. So 3 charges=450 miles = £60. BUT: Most EVs are charged overnight on a 7.5p / kWh tariff. 7.5p / kWh X40kWh = £3 X 3 charges (=450 miles) = £9! PS. A £9 charge equates to 122.2 mpg.

[@hungrysurfer9471]

@@John-FourteenSix 7.5p tarriff is long gone pre covid times. Im being charged 35p from EDF. And the electric range drops a lot unless you drive fairly slowly. If you drove quick at 90 mph + down the M25 your electric range cuts in half. But a diesel will still do over 500 miles. My BMW diesel can do 700 miles cruising at 85mph. 2015 520d auto.

[@danpaul4975]

As a Tesla owner I'd never unplug someone else's car. I'd wait my turn

[@wiselyauto]

It was meant more as a joke. We genuinely hope all parties will behave sensibly until the technicalities, such as cable length and better app notifications get addressed.

[@sveinjohansen6271]

If I see a car finished charging taking up a slot and I can park next to it to start my own charging, I usually unplug supercharger from the finished car and start my own. In fact I did this yesterday.

[@pippipster6767]

Great, now the very overcrowded Tesla chargers will be even more overcrowded. Wonderful.

[@wiselyauto]

Tesla seems to have opened up the least busy of their sites and we are hopeful the extra money generated will help with expansion of the network.