Tesla to Share Supercharger Design - Analyst Blog

Tesla Motors, Inc.'s TSLA CEO plans to share the designs of its Supercharger system so that other electric car manufacturers can equip their cars with the necessary specifications, thus allowing their owners to use the Superchargers, as per engadget.com. However, this sharing of design may lead to disclosure of some intellectual property about Tesla's vehicles' components.

According to CEO Elon Musk, the interested electric vehicle producers must subscribe to Tesla's business model related to the Superchargers in order to use the technology. Moreover, they need to contribute to the maintenance and running costs of the Superchargers. Musk also clarifies that the costs are not very high, as the many of the locations are rent free, and some of the Superchargers are powered by solar panels.

Tesla also plans to release some of its patents, although the company did not provide any details.

If Tesla discloses the design, then it won't be the first time Musk did something like it to drive adoption of a new idea. In Aug 2013, he shared the proposal for the “Hyperloop,” which uses solar-power for high-speed air travel.

Tesla's Superchargers provide free electricity charging for the Model S vehicles. Tesla is continuously working on the expansion of the Supercharger network. All electric car manufacturers will benefit if a universal charging standard is adopted.

Recently, Tesla also started the deliveries of the right hand drive (RHD) Model S in U.K. The automaker believes this launch will support rapid expansion of the company in U.K. in the next couple of years.

During the launch of RHD Model S, Tesla also energized the first Supercharger location in U.K. The strategic location of the Supercharger at Crystal site, at London's Royal Victoria Docks, marks the beginning of a planned Supercharger route to Paris and further across Europe. This will facilitate the long distance travel of Model S in the continent.

Tesla plans to establish a network of Superchargers across U.K. in the coming 18 months, which will enable Model S drivers to travel for free. Tesla is energizing roughly one Supercharger per weekday. At present, about 125 Supercharger locations are energized worldwide, of which 19 are in Europe.

Tesla currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same industry are Fox Factory Holding Corp FOXF, Gentherm Inc. THRM and Tower International, Inc. TOWR. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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