How to Use a Tesla Supercharger with a Non-Tesla EV

Yes, you can charge a non-Tesla electric car at a Tesla Supercharger, as long as it has a CCS socket and the site is open to other makes. By our count about 65% of UK Supercharger sites now are; you start the session in the free Tesla app (or by contactless at the newest stalls) and pay about 69p per kWh.

Tesla opened 15 of its 98 UK Supercharger sites to other cars in a pilot in May 2022, according to Which?. Four years on, opening a site to everyone is the norm rather than the exception. This guide covers which sites you can use, the exact steps, what it costs, and the practical problems that catch out first-timers.

How many UK Supercharger sites can non-Tesla cars use?

About two in three. Tesla does not publish a UK percentage, so we worked it out from two independent counts of Tesla’s own map taken in autumn 2026.

EV Compared calculation: open sites divided by all UK Supercharger sites: 149 ÷ 230 = 64.8% (tesla-chargers.com) and 152 ÷ 233 = 65.2% (myteslajourney.co.uk count of 7 October 2026), so about 65%.

Count	UK Supercharger sites	Open to non-Tesla EVs	Tesla-only	Share open
tesla-chargers.com (autumn 2026)	230	149	81	64.8%
myteslajourney.co.uk (7 October 2026)	233	152	81	65.2%
Which? (May 2022 pilot)	98	15	83	15.3%

Zapmap, which counts chargers across Tesla’s whole UK network, says more than 50% was open to other makes by the end of September 2026, out of 2,774 Tesla chargers. The two measures are not the same, since Zapmap counts chargers and we count sites, but both point the same way: most of the network is now open. Major routes still have gaps; the five M1 sites listed in the 7 October count were all Tesla-only.

The practical upshot is that roughly 80 UK sites remain off limits. Never plan a long trip around a Supercharger without first confirming that it appears in the non-Tesla section of the Tesla app.

Which cars can use a Tesla Supercharger?

Any electric car with a CCS rapid charging socket. That covers almost every EV sold new in the UK in recent years, including the Kia EV6, Hyundai Kona Electric, Skoda Enyaq, Nissan Ariya, BYD Dolphin and Volvo EX30, which Carwow lists as examples. Zapmap notes that only CCS cars can use the open sites, and where a stall has two cables, other makes must use the CCS one.

Older cars with a CHAdeMO socket, such as early Nissan Leafs, cannot use Superchargers at all.

Charging speed is set by your car as much as by the charger. Every UK Supercharger site currently tops out at 250 kW, so a car that accepts 150 kW will simply charge at its own maximum.

How do you charge a non-Tesla car at a Supercharger?

You need a smartphone, a payment card and about five minutes the first time. The process below follows the steps described by Electrifying.com and Carwow.

1. Download the Tesla app and create a free account. You do not need to own a Tesla. Add a payment card in the app before you set off.
2. Find an open site. In the app, choose “Charge Your Non-Tesla”. The map only shows sites you can use, with prices and facilities. Zapmap users can also filter for the Tesla public Supercharger network.
3. Park so the cable reaches. See the section on charging port position below.
4. Plug in, then enter the stall number. Each stall has a number, usually printed at the base. Select it in the app and press to start. Electrifying.com notes that the connection can take up to two minutes, so wait before assuming there is a fault.
5. Stop the session in the app and return the connector to its holder. Move the car promptly, because idle fees of up to £1 a minute can apply once charging has finished.

At some of the newest V4 stalls there is a contactless card reader, so you can pay without the app. The first UK V4 site, at the Tesla Centre in Tottenham, opened in August 2023 with a contactless reader and a longer cable. The tesla-chargers.com tracker now lists 107 UK sites with V4 hardware, but not every one has a card reader, so keep the app installed as a backup.

How much does a Tesla Supercharger cost for a non-Tesla EV?

About 69p per kWh on pay-as-you-go, according to Zapmap’s October 2026 figure. Tesla prices each site separately and charges more at busy times; Carwow notes that the peak runs from 4pm to 8pm. The exact price for your chosen stall is shown in the app before you plug in.

That makes Tesla cheaper than the typical rapid charger. Zapmap’s price index puts the UK average for rapid and ultra-rapid pay-as-you-go charging at 79p per kWh in September 2026.

Where you charge	Price per kWh	Cost of a 40 kWh top-up
Tesla Supercharger, pay-as-you-go	69p	£27.60
UK rapid and ultra-rapid average (Zapmap)	79p	£31.60
Home on Intelligent Octopus Go	6.5p	£2.60

EV Compared calculation: 40 kWh × price per kWh. A Supercharger stop saves about £4 against the national rapid average, but home charging on a smart tariff is still more than ten times cheaper. Our guide to Supercharger prices in the UK covers how Tesla’s site-by-site pricing works.

Is the Supercharging Membership worth paying for?

Only if you rapid charge regularly. A Supercharging Membership lets a non-Tesla driver pay lower, Tesla-owner prices. Tesla cut the fee from £10.99 to £8.99 a month in April 2024 and added a £90 annual option, according to DrivingElectric and Zapmap. Electrifying.com estimates the saving at 10p to 20p per kWh.

EV Compared calculation: monthly fee ÷ saving per kWh: £8.99 ÷ 20p = 45 kWh, and £8.99 ÷ 10p = 90 kWh. On the annual plan (£90 ÷ 12 = £7.50 a month) the break-even falls to 37.5 to 75 kWh a month.

In plain terms, one or two long motorway charges a month covers the fee. If you mostly charge at home and use a Supercharger a few times a year, pay-as-you-go is cheaper. If you are weighing up subscriptions across several networks, our guide to EV charging subscriptions compares the options.

What if your charging port is in the wrong place?

Supercharger cables are short because they were designed for Teslas, which have the charging port at the rear on the left. Electrifying.com points out that cars with ports at the front, or on the right, may need to park in an unusual way to reach.

• Port at the rear left: reverse in as a Tesla would.
• Port at the front: drive in nose first.
• Port on the right: an end bay often gives you room to position the car without blocking the next stall.

Tesla asks drivers not to park across bay lines, and Zapmap notes Tesla’s warning that some site layouts will not suit every car. If you would have to block a second stall to reach, move to a different bay or a different site. V4 stalls have longer cables, which solves most of these problems.

How do Superchargers compare with other networks?

For a CCS car, an open Supercharger is one of the cheaper ultra-rapid options on pay-as-you-go, and Tesla’s network has a strong reputation for reliability. The trade-off is the app and the parking. We compare Tesla directly with two rivals in IONITY vs Tesla Supercharger and Tesla Supercharger vs InstaVolt.

If you would rather not juggle several accounts, see our guide to charging any EV at any public charger, and our round-up of the best EV charging apps for route planning and payment.

Quick checklist before your first Supercharger stop

• Your car has a CCS socket.
• The Tesla app is installed, signed in and has a payment card saved.
• The site appears under “Charge Your Non-Tesla” in the app.
• You know where your charging port is and which bay will suit it.
• You will be back before the car finishes, to avoid idle fees of up to £1 a minute.