With petrol's steep price hikes and the Indian government's renewed and reinforced efforts to phase out fossil fuel-based energy every year, we know electric vehicles — or EVs, as the cool kids say it — will be the choice of transportation for the future. Now, it all falls upon the state and major players in the market to determine if they can cooperate enough to smoothen (and thus, hasten) this transition.
And now,
Tesla — a behemoth who dabbled in the
EV craft before they were even a thing — has been making rounds in the news again for a very significant decision that could very well bring the EV hesitant on board.
Tesla just announced that they would "universalise" charging stations, essentially opening up a part of their massive charging network to all electric vehicles — including non-Tesla cars.
Obviously, this is a massive deal for the United States since the rapidly expanding EV market with multiple manufacturers means having a close-by
charging station for a quick charge-and-go is quintessential.
Tesla would also receive government subsidies for this move, of course, but the important thing to recognise is that universalisation opens paths for standardisation, which always helps make technology accessible and easy to interpret for the masses. Imagine what life was like before Type-B or Type-C chargers weren't the norms for most phones in the market.
Back in
India, rumours have been circulating of potential Tesla superchargers to grace the country soon, although information is scarce. However,
Ather Energy, one of the biggest EV manufacturers in our country, has been toiling tirelessly to set up an extensive grid of public and semi-private charging booths all over the country.
Currently, they boast over 1000
Ather Grid points in more than 80 cities, which are serendipitously already compatible with any electric vehicles that use a 5A charger (although the fast charging option is only restricted to Ather vehicles). They plan to expand to 2,500 units by the year's end.
In addition, Ather offers an option to assess your neighbourhood community, workplace and the like, to see if you can install your very own connection to the Ather grid. In the company's latest marketing stint, the team offers to provide a free charger installation at your office if you get four of your colleagues to buy an Ather vehicle with you.
Since the uncertainty behind a robust charging network remains one of the leading concerns for many EV non-believers, the ability to tap into any
charging grid — no matter the company — could certainly catalyse the electric transition for many. We can only hope Tesla's example has spurred more Indian companies to develop the appropriate technology to enable sharing among our increasingly diversified portfolio of electric vehicles.
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