Tesla Supercharging is losing its advantage over other public electric vehicle charging methods

According to a report, other EV charging networks are catching up to Tesla’s Supercharger network in terms of customer satisfaction. New research by JD Power.

Research shows that the Tesla Supercharger network is not necessarily getting worse in this area, but other networks are improving. According to JD Power, it still has the highest customer satisfaction among fast charging networks, based on analysis of “millions of data points aggregated into six categories — preference, availability, applicability usage, affordability, infrastructure and experience”.

However, non-Tesla fast charging networks saw a 19-point increase on JD Power’s scale in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, while Tesla saw a one-point decrease in that period. . That’s good news for electric car drivers in general, as it shows that the non-Tesla charging experience is getting better, but could be a concern for Tesla, given the importance of the Supercharger network to its uptake. car manufacturer’s instructions.

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“If Tesla’s Supercharger network experiences significant setbacks or increased competition from challenger brands, it could have a significant impact on its core component,” J.D. Power said in a statement. brand value proposition”.

That thing causing Tesla to lose a lot of things—and considering the decision to lay off nearly the entire Supercharger team, it’s a puzzling decision given what many saw as the key value proposition the company had to offer.

Meanwhile, research shows that customer satisfaction with public electric vehicle charging generally increases with non-Tesla networks. In the first quarter, customer satisfaction with DC fast charging increased 16 points compared to the previous quarter, while customer satisfaction with AC Level 2 charging increased 9 points compared to the previous quarter. JD Power said this was the largest quarterly increase since the company began collecting data in 2021.

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It sheds light on the generally bleak picture of public electric vehicle charging. One of JD Power’s previous studies from last year showed that One out of every five charges failsis a wake-up call for the industry. Retailers aren’t doing much to support electric vehicle charging, Consumer Reports suggested in another study.

However, some efforts have been made to address issues such as reliability. The Department of Energy recently emphasized that hardware and grid manufacturers need to be a little more lenient More flexibility in station control—and users would rather receive a reduced price, flagged as such, than not be charged at all.