Tesla’s new “workplace charging” program would corner office parking spots

Tesla has long had a brand-specific charging port on its cars, which requires a brand-specific plug or an adapter to use a more generic plug. Now the company wants to help workplaces add brand-specific Tesla charging stations, so that people without access to a garage at night can find 6 to 8 hours of charging on the other end of the clock. On Thursday, Tesla announced that it would work with building managers to install free charging infrastructure—the building would only have to pay for the cost of the electricity.

Tesla already has a similar destination charging program, where hotels and restaurants can have a Tesla charger installed, and the property owner covers electricity cost. One important note about these workplace chargers, however, is that their location won't be made public, so tenants of the building are the primary beneficiaries.

It obviously benefits Tesla to bring potential customers without a garage at home into the fold. If workplace charging can replace garage charging, the electric vehicle (EV) company can make its pitch to more people. But though it sounds very altruistic, Tesla would certainly be getting something out of any "workplace charging" agreement. As autonomous vehicle law consulting firm Safe Self Drive tweeted, installing Tesla charging spots in crowded urban areas amounts to building Tesla-reserved parking spots. (That is, unless you have access to one of the few adapters out there that let non-Tesla EVs draw from Tesla chargers.) From a building manager's perspective, it's probably better to install a generic EV charger and let Tesla owners use their adapters to fill up the tank.

If the barrier to entry for a person without an electric vehicle is simply charging infrastructure, Tesla and building managers would essentially be banking on that person making the choice to get a Tesla after the infrastructure is installed. That's not a totally irrational assumption: charging infrastructure company Chargepoint has worked with companies like Google, Netflix, Dell, and Adobe to install charging spots on the companies' campuses, and, according to a promotional pamphlet (PDF), at least Amazon started noticing that more employees started driving EVs to work accordingly. If your parking garage has a lot of extra space, a mixture of Tesla and standard J1772 Level 2 chargers could make sense.