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EVgo starts building Tesla Superchargers under license
The V4 Superchargers will show up in the Tesla nav app and have NACS and CCS1 plugs.
Credit:
EVgo
Credit:
EVgo
For most of its existence, the Tesla Supercharger network was both the automaker’s crown jewel and a walled garden. Tightly integrated to work only with Tesla electric vehicles, the DC fast-charging experience for Tesla customers was painless in ways that EV drivers dependent on CCS1 chargers operated by a patchwork of networks could only dream of. Then, in 2023, Tesla began opening up the network to other EVs. Ford was the first to sign a deal, and by the following year, the CCS1 plug, which was the de facto non-Tesla standard, was living on borrowed time.
But it’s not just other automakers that are adopting the J3400 standard, better known as NACS. Manufacturers of DC fast charging equipment can also license Tesla’s Supercharger design. In fact, the first license-built Superchargers were deployed in the UK in 2024. And today we learned that’s what EVgo will be doing here in the US. It says it will start deploying EVgo-made Tesla V4 Superchargers onto its network later this fall.
The DC chargers can deliver up to 500 kW (operating at up to 1,000 V) and support both NACS and CCS1 plugs. And because they’re Tesla Superchargers built under license, the EVgo units will appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation app and be included when a Tesla driver uses their onboard route planner. The hardware will be owned and operated by EVgo, which will also “manage activities such as site host engagement, utility interconnection, and price management at EVgo Supercharger sites,” the company told Ars.
Drivers of non-Tesla EVs will be able to charge using the V4 units as well via the Tesla app, and EVgo says the cables will be long enough to work regardless of where a particular model’s charge port is located. (As non-Tesla EVs gain access to the Supercharger network, many are finding that the V3 charger cables are too short to reach the car.) And the EVgo Superchargers will appear in both the EVgo and Tesla apps.
“EVgo is making it easier for EV drivers to find convenient fast charging, and we’re bringing more infrastructure options to communities across America to serve the growing demand for public charging,” said EVgo CEO Badar Khan. “With this deployment, we look forward to welcoming more Tesla and NACS drivers to the EVgo network.
As we’ve seen in recent months, services including charging are becoming increasingly important to Tesla. The company is making less money selling more cars as it cuts prices to tempt customers and as inflation and tariffs increase operating costs each quarter. On top of that, the company is burning through its revenues at an impressive rate, spending on robotics and AI. Any licensing fees from EVgo, plus the ongoing returns from deployed Superchargers, will be gladly welcomed.
Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean that EVgo will stamp out someone else’s designs from here on out. The charger company says the first of its own next-generation DC fast chargers should also be deployed by the end of the year.
