Tesla has recently been making moves to enable payments at charging stations in its Destination Charging network, but it also enables charging electric vehicles at apartments — something that has been harder to do.
Earlier this year, Tesla launched its Wall Connector Gen 3, a new home charging station with Wi-Fi connection and an updated design.
Most new level 2 charging stations are Wi-Fi enabled, but Tesla didn’t include the capability until recently since owners could always monitor charging through the connectivity capability of its vehicles.
Wi-Fi capability at the charging station also enables Tesla to implement payment for Destination Chargers, which uses its Wall Connector.
Shortly after, Tesla told property owners in its Destination Charging network that it will soon enable them to take payment from customers for using their charging stations.
Now, Tesla has also updated its website with mention of this new capability being used for apartments:
“Enable residents to wake up to a full charge every day by providing convenient and reliable charging. Property managers will soon be able to seamlessly collect payment for energy consumed.”
This is an interesting development that could be a big help in enabling EV ownership for apartment dwellers.
Electric vehicle ownership has been more difficult for people living in condominiums and apartment buildings.
Home charging is one of the biggest advantages of electric vehicles over gasoline-powered cars, but that’s harder to achieve if you park your vehicle in a shared parking lot.
It can be hard to convince landlords, property managers, or HOAs to install charging stations, and part of that is how the electric vehicle owners are going to pay for the electricity they consume.
But now, Tesla plans to have its own platform to manage the charging sessions and automatic payment system for property managers — making it a lot easier to manage a charging station in an apartment building.
Other charging station companies, like ChargePoint, have developed similar programs, but Tesla has the potential to make apartment charging a lot more popular since its vehicles are the best-selling EVs, and its charging stations are fairly cheap compared to the competition.
Apartment managers can use this form to request more information from Tesla.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
