ELECTRIC cars are on the rise but finding a charger on the road is challenging. Now it may soon become easier thanks to electric automaker Tesla. The company recently pledged to open its proprietary charging network to other electric vehicles in the United States.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk first announced that Tesla was planning to open its network to non-Tesla vehicles via a tweet July 20, and later expanded upon the idea during the manufacturer’s quarterly earnings call July 26.

“We’re currently thinking it’s a real simple thing where you just download the Tesla app and you go to Supercharger,” said Musk, referring to the company’s line of fast chargers. “And you just indicate which stall you’re in. So you plug in your car, even if it’s not Tesla.”

Currently, all Tesla Superchargers in the United States use a proprietary inlet connector with a form factor that can only be used to charge Tesla-branded vehicles. Other EVs on the market use an open standard like the Combined Charging System or less common CHAdeMO connector. This means that the Supercharger inlet cannot be physically inserted into a non-Tesla vehicle to charge it.

The solution involves a small piece of hardware. Musk says that the company will start selling a Tesla-designed adapter which sits between the car and the Supercharger and allows owners of non-Tesla vehicles to use the Supercharging network along with the Tesla app to charge their vehicles.

(SD-Agencies)