Future of electric charging
Futuristic concept of car being charged while driving on expressway
The recent news of Tesla's layoffs and the dissolution of the supercharger team has raised a few eyebrows across the industry and among investors, given how the supercharger network is seen as the secret sauce that made Tesla the market leader it is today. It's important to take a moment to reflect on the remarkable work of that team in establishing the supercharger network. Moreover, it raises the question of how a competitor could leverage this open talent pool to disrupt the supercharger network as it exists today.
Why the supercharger network works
One of the things that made the supercharger network great was that it consistently worked, and stations were where they needed to be to help alleviate range anxiety. As a Tesla owner, it kept me in the ecosystem. Given the sad state of other charging networks, with their inconsistent experiences and general unreliability, other electric car manufacturers failed to alleviate the range anxiety concerns because they couldn't take advantage of the supercharger network.
If we look at Superchargers through the product lens, it's a high-quality product with a consistent experience. It's simple, easy to use and predictable. When you go to a supercharger, you know what to expect and can rely on it to quickly charge up your vehicle and get you on your way. This is critical in the electric car market because people will only trust electric cars for everyday and travel use cases with that consistency. This ultimately led to other electric car manufacturers adopting NACS for the potential to tap into that sweet, sweet supercharger network. This was a real possibility (see Rivian) until the entire team was axed.
Disrupting the leader
So, now that more car manufacturers are adopting NACS, and the potential for tapping into the Supercharger network looks to be heading out the window, what does this mean for the landscape? Well, it's a golden opportunity. If you're a competing charging network, you need to do a product overhaul that focuses on attacking the critical aspects of existing superchargers with a focus on simplicity, consistency, and rapid adoption of NACS as the primary charging mode. You also need to up your availability operations to maintain and monitor these stations to a level that brings consistency (see Site Reliability Engineering).
To get started, you hire the team of folks who built the supercharger network and put them to work, turning your charging system into an actual supercharger competitor. Then, you work with the auto manufacturers to adopt a VIN identification API similar to how superchargers work, allowing your chargers to auto-bill the correct vehicle. Replicating that walk-up, plug-in, and charge experience without needing an app is critical. I say this as a longtime Tesla owner.
Supercharging in the future
As we envision the future of supercharging technology, a key aspect that must be prioritized is a ubiquitous approach to charging. This means eliminating any consumer effort and making the charging process ambient. This will be accelerated as the industry shifts toward ambient computing, allowing technology to seamlessly interact with you through your environment, enhancing your daily life.
The supercharging network of the future interacts with your car without human effort. It could be automated charging pads in parking lots that seamlessly charge your vehicle as you stop to pick up groceries or wireless charging lanes that radiate power into your car along the highway as you drive, allowing for indefinite travel without the need to stop and charge.
Whatever approach the industry decides, the folks who built the system that made Tesla charging a no-brainer are currently on the market and looking to disrupt the future.