Can Any Electric Car Use Tesla Charging Stations?

September 18, 2018 10:38 pm Published by Leave your thoughts

A new electric car accessory could be a game changer for early adopters of what promises to be an extremely influential technology moving forward.

The accessory is the JDapter Stub (Tesla Charge Station Adapter), which allows people who own electric cars not made by Tesla, such as the Nissan Leaf or the BMW i3, to charge their vehicles at Tesla’s Destination Chargers or using the Tesla Wall Connector. Tesla’s Destination Chargers use Tesla’s own proprietary connector, which had previously made them unavailable to other vehicles. This brand new accessory changes that.

The proprietary nature of the Destination Charger was by design—it allowed Tesla to use a single plug while also limiting access to its stations, because it frequently supplies those stations free of charge to businesses like restaurants and hotels as a way of expanding its charging infrastructure quickly and easily.

There are currently more than 5,000 locations in the world that host electric car chargers in North Scottsdale, AZ and beyond, which makes it one of the largest electric vehicle charging networks in the world.

Accessory comes with some controversy

There have been some discussions for several years about accessories that would be able to work around Tesla’s technologies to allow non-Tesla owners a chance to access the charging stations for their own electric vehicles. The JDapter Stub is currently only in beta—it’s been in development for years by Tony Williams of Quick Charge Power.

The accessory is currently for sale for $400, but there are some notes on the website about the limits of its usage. Here they are:

  • NOTE 1: JDapter Stub will NOT work with the Tesla Supercharger – Direct Current (DC) charging
  • NOTE 2: JDapter Stub will NOT work with vehicles with European Mennekes Type 2 inlets
  • NOTE 3: JDapter Stub will NOT work with Tesla UMC / mobile connector / HPWC / wall connector with European Mennekes Type 2 plugs
  • NOTE 4: JDapter Stub will NOT work with TESLA Roadster charge stations. JDapter will, however, work with Tesla Roadster using Tesla or aftermarket supplied J1772 adaptor
  • NOTE 5: DO NOT EXCEED 40 AMPS
  • NOTE 6: It is not recommended to use at over 264 volts on most EVs, except the 2012-2014 Toyota RAV4 EV and 2014 and newer Mercedes B-Class ED / B250e
  • NOTE 7: Some second generation Tesla charge stations may require up to 30 seconds to begin charging your EV

The product is legitimate in the sense that it is perfectly legal to use, but there has been some controversy about whether it is ethical to design a product that makes use of what was designed to be a private vehicle charging network for Tesla owners.

Still, now that the technology exists, one can expect it to become significantly more popular in the coming years.

For more information about the development of electric car chargers in North Scottsdale, AZ, as well as other electric vehicle accessories, contact Eavenson Electric Co. today and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

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