Tesla Supercharger Access

[daveo4EV]

it should be noted that the North American Supercharger network is made up of 4 sub-types of superchargers:

• Urban Superchargers - 72 kW
• V2 Superchargers - 120-150 kW
• V3 Superchargers - 250 kW
• V4 Superchargers - 250 kW (or more?? TBD)

all NACS partners will have access to V3/V4 superchargers - to date the V2/Urban superchargers do not have the ability to charge a CCS1 vehicle. So just because it's a supercharger site does _NOT_ mean your Macan/Taycan can utilize it.

Example: there is a 16 stall supercharger in Watsonville, CA - it's an urban supercharger - so my Macan will not have access…nor will any other NACS partner vehicles…

Tesla pulled off this coup by making the V3/V4 superchargers "bilingual" - V3/V4 superchargers can speak both "supercharger" & "CCS1" - so a simple physical adapter (and network billing authorization) is all that is required for a CCS1 vehicle to charge at V3/V4 supercharger sites…

I simply point this out so that one does not go trudging off into a charging desert and just "assume" you can use _ALL_ supercharger sites…you can't.

to date Tesla has not announced any special plans to upgrade Urban/V2 sites to speak "CCS" - but they may add this capability over the course of time by normal hardware upgrade cycles that upgrades Urban/V2 superchargers to newer Tesla hardware - time will tell…

the good news here is there are a lot of V3/V4 sites - so while you may not be able to access _ALL_ of the Superchargers in North American - you can access much much more than "most" of the North American supercharger sites…

check with plug-share, Tesla app, or the Porsche Charging map before assuming some random Supercharger location is compatible with your Porsche EV…there will remain a subset of supercharger sites that do not support charging your Porsche EV even though you have an adapter…

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[Paris92]

This is great to hear. I wonder if they will do something like you can purchase an adapter now, or get a free one in a few months time…. I still think it will be an item we have to pay handsomely for; especially given the recent tariff hit, elimination of free charging period for 2026 models… Doesn’t feel like Porsche is in a position to be giving away anything for free right now.

 

[Paris92]

Very cool to be able to see and add Macan EV as a vehicle option to the Tesla app today. I looked two days ago and it wasn’t there. It’s the little things… progress!

 

[daveo4EV]

i'm 99% certain the Porsche unit is a simple rebranded Lectron Unit - they look identical:

https://ev-lectron.com/products/lec...0a-1-000v-compatible-with-tesla-superchargers

$194.99 shipping today

these "adapters" are passive units - there is no translation of power or protocol - they simply have thermal sensors, electronic lock-outs and are made to be robust in the face of 1000V DC power at 500 amps!!! (500 kW if you're paying attention)…

 

[mattb]

I've got my Ford adapter, and it does fit inside the Macan charge port opening. I'll have to give it a test.

I'm guessing Plug & Charge won't work right away. I assume a certificate will have to be loaded in our Porsche accounts first, which could take some time.

I still have my Ford adapter as well.

 

[daveo4EV]

other than physical fit - I'd be super super surprised and confused if the Ford Adapter did not function perfectly.

 

[EvSwimmers]

it should be noted that the North American Supercharger network is made up of 4 sub-types of superchargers:

• Urban Superchargers - 72 kW
• V2 Superchargers - 250 kW
• V3 Superchargers - 250 kW
• V4 Superchargers - 250 kW (or more?? TBD)

all NACS partners will have access to V3/V4 superchargers - to date the V2/Urban superchargers do not have the ability to charge a CCS1 vehicle. So just because it's a supercharger site does _NOT_ mean your Macan/Taycan can utilize it.

Example: there is a 16 stall supercharger in Watsonville, CA - it's an urban supercharger - so my Macan will not have access…nor will any other NACS partner vehicles…

Tesla pulled off this coup by making the V3/V4 superchargers "bilingual" - V3/V4 superchargers can speak both "supercharger" & "CCS1" - so a simple physical adapter (and network billing authorization) is all that is required for a CCS1 vehicle to charge at V3/V4 supercharger sites…

I simply point this out so that one does not go trudging off into a charging desert and just "assume" you can use _ALL_ supercharger sites…you can't.

to date Tesla has not announced any special plans to upgrade Urban/V2 sites to speak "CCS" - but they may add this capability over the course of time by normal hardware upgrade cycles that upgrades Urban/V2 superchargers to newer Tesla hardware - time will tell…

the good news here is there are a lot of V3/V4 sites - so while you may not be able to access _ALL_ of the Superchargers in North American - you can access much much more than "most" of the North American supercharger sites…

check with plug-share, Tesla app, or the Porsche Charging map before assuming some random Supercharger location is compatible with your Porsche EV…there will remain a subset of supercharger sites that do not support charging your Porsche EV even though you have an adapter…

Just an explanation for why V3/V4 chargers are different (at least as I understand it). Tesla was actually forced to conform to the CCS standard for both the plug format and the communication protocol in order to sell cars in Europe. So they changed all of their cars to use the CCS protocol, fitting European cars with CCS2 ports and US cars with NACS. Superchargers starting with V3 speak ONLY CCS protocol.
So the first generation Tesla vehicles cannot charge at V3/V4 sites.

 

[scharnhorst310]

I've got one of these units and had a friend try it out with their car and it worked perfectly

https://a2zevshop.com/products/nacs-ccs1

 

[daveo4EV]

Just an explanation for why V3/V4 chargers are different (at least as I understand it). Tesla was actually forced to conform to the CCS standard for both the plug format and the communication protocol in order to sell cars in Europe. So they changed all of their cars to use the CCS protocol, fitting European cars with CCS2 ports and US cars with NACS. Superchargers starting with V3 speak ONLY CCS protocol.
So the first generation Tesla vehicles cannot charge at V3/V4 sites.

tldr; this can not be true because North American tesla's have always supported/required plug&charge - and CCS does not have a robust/flexible plug&charge billing/authorization standard - and many many tesla's do not support CCS (MY 2018 and earlier??) - and all 4 types of superchargers support _ALL_ Teslas…even Tesla's that can not do CCS

---------------------
this is close but not quite true…it maybe 100% true for europe I don't know…in early days in europe Tesla simply ran their supercharger protocol over a CCS2 physical connector - the supercharger network in europe did not "speak" CCS - but the european Tesla vehicle's spoke both "supercharger" and "CCS" and had the right physical connector - over time Tesla "added" CCS as a protocol the superchargers could speak to vehicle's and that allowed them to open the supercharger network to "non-Tesla" CCS vehicles…

but in north america the supercharger network has alwasy been "plug&charge" - but not the standard's based one - Tesla "rolled" their "own" plug&charge protocol which is _NOT_ CCS - since their plug&charge protocl pre-dates any standard in this space.

there are legacy Tesla's that can not speak CCS protocol - but Superchargers in North America work with _ALL_ Tesla - so V3/V4 can not be CCS exclusive because if they were you could not charge a MY'2015 Model S at a V4 supercharger - and you clearly can…all Teslas in North American can use all superchargers - CCS is not required (it can't be)

all North American sites speak the legacy Tesla Supercharger plug&charge protocol - and "some" Tesla sites optionally offer CCS support.

my $0.02 is europeans' overthink the CCS1/plug requirement - it made things easier, but network access is way way more than a simple plug-shape mandate (and protocol) - the european mandate didn't "hurt" adoption, but it alone is not responsible for paradise, and there are still european Tesla supercharger sites that only support Tesla - because even if you mandate conformity on phyuiscal plugs and protocol you can not mandate access/authorization if the site is privately owned/operated/restricted/dealer-only/commerical-trucking etc…

The supercharger network in north america speaks the "legacy" Tesla supercharger plug&charge/charging protocols

and V3/V4 speak "legacy Tesla" and CCS protocols

CCS1 lacks a robust/compelling/flexible plug&charge standard to date and is still evolving - as to how/when all CCS1 vehicle's will be able to do CCS based plug&charge with multiple independent networks that is TBD…

Tesla vehicle's are "bi-lingual" - they support CCS and Tesla-Supercharger-Plug&Charge
Tesla V3/V4 superchargers are also "bi-lingual" - they support CCS1 and Tesla-Supercharger-Plug&charge

supercharger sites have to support the legacy protocol because MY'2015/2016 Tesla's do not support CCS as a protocol - becuse the CCS protocol has crappy support for plug&charge.

 

[dbsb3233]

the good news here is there are a lot of V3/V4 sites - so while you may not be able to access _ALL_ of the Superchargers in North American - you can access much much more than "most" of the North American supercharger sites…

Mostly accurate, but I wouldn't characterize it as "much much more than most". There's still a lot of V2's (and some V3's that Tesla opted not to allow CCS use of). I don't know the exact percentage, but it's around 1/3rd that are not CCS capable.

And worse, they tend to be where we need them more - rural America. Most of us don't need DCFC locally (we just charge are home when within 100 miles). It's road trips where we need DCFC, which often means driving across states in the middle of the country. There are very few CCS-capable SCs in states like WY, SD, NM, NV, etc. Lots of holes, even on major interstates.

The good news is Tesla is gradually upgrading, and the holes are shrinking. But the holes tend to be where we need them most.

I find the Tesla website map the best place to find them all. I like it better than the Tesla app. The filters are easier to use to toggle on/off to show Tesla-only vs NACS-partner (need your own adapter + mfgr authorization) vs Other EVs (Magicdocks).

https://www.tesla.com/findus?bounds=47.76042542830078,-92.9773144976891,37.46488904528696,-124.61793949768908&filters=open_to_all_evs_superchargers,nacs_superchargers,coming_soon_superchargers

You can toggle Tesla-only on and off to see how many V2s (and some non-CCS V3s) there still are.

 

[USMA81]

I think we’re being punked.

More seriously, I’d love to get a free adapter, but the cost is negligible for the value it will deliver. In fact, I bought the Lectron (a freebie , if provided, will go in my other Macan).

Also, when I set up my Macan in the Tesla app, it asks if I have an adapter. When I click “yes,” it states only manufacturer-provided devices are authorized. “Non-compliant third-party devices are not permitted.” To proceed I have to certify that I will use such a device.

 

[daveo4EV]

I think we’re being punked.

More seriously, I’d love to get a free adapter, but the cost is negligible for the value it will deliver. In fact, I bought the Lectron (a freebie , if provided, will go in my other Macan).

Also, when I entered my Macan into the Tesla app, it asks if I have an adapter. When I click “yes,” it states only manufacturer-provided devices are authorized. “Non-compliant third-party devices are not permitted.” To proceed I have to certify that I will use such a device.

the charging stations can not tell if an adatper is "certfied" or even in use - these things have been dissected on multiple youTube videos - they are _NOT_ smart devices, and provide no communication or active electronics… they are the very epitome of a simple pass-through device mapping the input on one side of the connection of the same input on the other side of the connection…there are 5 "electrical" connections to "map" from one side to the other (2 high voltage DC connectors, 2 low voltage communication connctors, 1 electrical ground - that's it 5 connections to map NACS to CCS for fast charging - and only two of those are of any consequence - the 1000V/500 amp rated DC-power flow connectors)

the "warning" about use of authorized adapter for potential liability should something go wrong - say for example you're using a $12 adapter from my-favorite-guy-down-the-street-electical-engineering company - and it melts causing damage to your Macan's charging port - when you bring it to Porsche to fix and the non-certified/authorized adapter is still fused to the charging port, it will be a different conversation as to cost to repair vs. if you had been using the Porsche one…

400/800V @ 200-500 amps DC power is no joke - I recommend purchasing a high quality reputable adapter - Lectron is the base supplier for a lot of the makes - and by appearance to my eye seems to be the one Porsche is rebranding based on the pictures from the owners manual download…

https://fordauthority.com/2025/03/heres-how-the-ford-fast-charging-adapter-came-to-life-video/

NOTE; keep in mind - EA has announced they will be adding NACS connectors/cables to their charging network (as have ChargePoint, EVGo, and others) - and it may be in the future you roll up to a 800V EA 350 kW charging stations and it has a NACS charging cord - and your CCS Macan will need the adapter to use the Electrify American charging stations…

for now NACS is primarily superchargers - but as the other networks "adapt" a NACS to CCS adapter may be required for non-Tesla charging stations.

 

[skshimer]

Hi to All

while awaiting Porsche to debug Taycans and test the Macan EV I factory ordered a Ford Mach E All Wheel drive plus extended battery (320-340 mi range). Drove it 2 years & 29.5k mis. Not one single blemish or issue. Flawless OTA Software updates. I bought and installed the factory OEM home charger and had it professionally installed.

I have used it flawlessly since the 1st day I came home with the Macan 4 EV.

Porsche’s 12 month 30 mins/day free charging on EA charging stations since extended through ChargePoint, the chargepoint station in my apartment building also worked immediately but the sign up with Porsche on my App hasn’t linked properly for free charging. I pay for my Chargepoint charges.

Not positive but I do not think that ChargePoint was ever intended to free like the EA. It was added for convenience and ChargePoint, and EA in the future, will be paid through your Porsche account.

 

[vanjwilson]

it should be noted that the North American Supercharger network is made up of 4 sub-types of superchargers:

• Urban Superchargers - 72 kW
• V2 Superchargers - 250 kW
• V3 Superchargers - 250 kW
• V4 Superchargers - 250 kW (or more?? TBD)

...

Overall a great summary of the different flavors of Tesla superchargers.

Minor nit: at most, V2 superchargers are only 150kW. Some of the older ones are only 120kW (like the older ones along I-90 in South Dakota).

 

[daveo4EV]

Overall a great summary of the different flavors of Tesla superchargers.

Minor nit: at most, V2 superchargers are only 150kW. Some of the older ones are only 120kW (like the older ones along I-90 in South Dakota).

fixed! thank you!!!

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