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Jul 01, 2023

Tesla V4 superchargers with tap and go credit card option in action for first time

Tesla has been rolling out its new Tesla V4 Superchargers at various sites in The Netherlands and France. Now one of the first sites has gone live in the UK with a contactless payment feature spotted

Tesla has been rolling out its new Tesla V4 Superchargers at various sites in The Netherlands and France. Now one of the first sites has gone live in the UK with a contactless payment feature spotted in action.

A video of this has emerged from UK showcasing the system and what the card-reader screen displays. It was shared by electricfelix and the experience was recorded by EVAEOfficial channel on Twitter/X.

The chargers at the new site can be used via either the Tesla app or by tap-and-go contactless payment. Previously, the only option available for non Tesla cars – at those charging stations that were open to them – was to sign up to the Tesla app.

The introduction of the tap-and-go car payment systems also means Tesla will be eligible for millions of dollars in EV charging grants globally, where one key requirement for the grant is to enable open payment options that don’t rely on single app.

A demo of how the contactless payment works is shown in steps. Starting with what the screen shows after the car has been plugged in to the time when the car is charging after a credit card has been tapped on the screen.

THIS is @JamesRCourt using The Very First Tap & GO #payment supporting @TeslaCharging V4 #Supercharger IN THE WORLD⚡️⚡️⚡️

Thanks @EVAEOfficial 📽️ for sharing this incredible moment#historic

If this isn't a Public Fast Charger, I don't know what is#fastcharging #greatbritain pic.twitter.com/NyAJoyKUPn

— Felix Hamer • electricfelix (@electricfelix) August 25, 2023

Before plugging in, the integrated supercharger screen shows a “Plug In to Charge” with charging and idle fees noted along with a QR code that can be scanned via the Tesla app to begin charging.

After the credit card is tapped on the screen and the charging session begins, the screen displays “Charging in Progress” status. This time it shows charging metrics including charging costs, energy delivered, charging rate and charge duration.

The entire process seems quite seamless and the screen is small and subtle enough to make these units look not much different to those without contact-less payment capabilities.

These readers integrated card readers are located just under the CCS2 holder on the V4 supercharger stall so are also easy to spot for those looking at charging at the stall.

This latest sighting comes a month after Tesla showcased the V4 supercharger with credit-card payment capabilities spotted via a credit card reader attached at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month.

As of August, no sighting of a V4 supercharger site has been spotted outside of Europe. In Australia, recent sites under construction, like the one in Brighton, Victoria, still have the V3 supercharger stalls.

One key difference in some of the recent builds is the availability of a drive-in bay which makes it easier for EVs that are towing to charge, instead of unhitching.

For sites open to non-Tesla vehicles, five NSW Supercharger sites offer the ability to “charge your non-Tesla”. These opened to non-Teslas at the end of January this year and include:

With Tesla continuing to innovate on the charging infrastructure technologies it offers, it’s only a matter of time before it leaves the European containment and becomes the global benchmark for EV charging.

Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.