Paying by bank card on Tesla Superchargers may become a reality
In addition to longer cables, the new Superchargers could offer a major advantage: bankcard payment
The opening up of the Tesla Supercharger network to competition at the end of 2021 has brought with it a whole host of problems: cables that are too short, incompatible charging port locations, the need to create an account on the Tesla app, etc. These are all shortcomings that the manufacturer is now trying to rectify by presenting a V4 Supercharger unlike any other at Goodwood. The differences are subtle, but they will make the charging stations much easier to use.
From the front, there are in fact no changes compared to the – rare – V4 Superchargers already in place. The chargepoints are still taller than the V3 Superchargers, and their cables are actually longer. You’ll have to lift the connector to see a major change: future Superchargers will have a handy touchscreen to accommodate competing models.
Paying by bank card at Tesla?
In Tesla, all the information about the charge (time remaining, energy consumed, power delivered, price to be paid, etc.) is displayed directly on the vehicle’s screen. When charging a competitor’s vehicle, you had to go through the Tesla application to find out all this information. The touch screen will rectify this. The Californian brand could even introduce contactless payment for charging using a bank card, which would bring considerable convenience to users.
The application would no longer be necessary, allowing occasional users to visit the Superchargers without first having a Tesla account. For the moment, the brand has not yet made these new-style V4 Superchargers official. As a reminder, the first two V4 Superchargers in service are in the Netherlands and France. Unlike the model presented at Goodwood, they do not have a touch screen.
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