Tesla's "Magic Dock" adapter, which allows the company's Supercharger stations to charge non-Tesla battery electric vehicles, may be returning after seeming to disappear with no explanation earlier this year. One Magic Dock has been deployed at a charging station in Texas.
The popular EV company installed a handful of Magic Docks at charging stations in California and New York in February 2023. This was potentially related to a huge federal subsidy that the company would soon receive on the basis that it could and would build charge sites with the capability to charge non-Tesla vehicles.
However, since then, no new Magic Dock adapters have been deployed until the one in Texas emerged last week.
While Tesla has its own type of charging port for its cars called North American Charging Standard (NACS), nearly all the other EVs sold in the United States use the Combined Charging System (CCS). This makes Tesla Superchargers incompatible with the majority of EVs without an adapter.
Recently, Tesla has been battling companies with a financial interest in CCS chargers as the two sides compete to see whose chargers will reign supreme. This fight, too, is largely tied to federal subsidies and who qualifies for them.
It is not clear what Tesla's reason is for deploying a single Magic Dock at this moment, and the station is not yet listed on Tesla's website. However, one Tesla fan was able to get a picture and post it on Twitter.
It's official @TeslaCharging @Tesla magic docks were installed near me Fort Worth, TX. Spoke with the installers and it's unofficial for now @RateYourCharge @itskyleconner pic.twitter.com/MPJISZkywn
— Jared (@jaredcs) August 1, 2023
Somewhat contradictorily, he wrote, "It's official @TeslaCharging magic docks were installed near me … Spoke with the installers and it's unofficial for now."
Electrek's commenters were not quite sure what to make of the new charging station overall, but it was welcome news for one commenter who happens to live in the area.
"What? That station is only a block from my church, and the company with the contract for setting up and wiring it also installed our new A/C in the sweltering heat just 2 weeks ago!" they wrote. "Now I have to stop by and look it over in person next Sunday. It's a small world after all."
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