Germany: All Tesla charging stations illegal
Around 1800 charging stations are operated by the US company in the Federal Republic. An investigation has now revealed that they violate calibration laws. However, the authorities' hands are tied.
The German charging network is being expanded more and more to promote electromobility. The US car manufacturer Tesla, with its 1800 charging points, is playing a significant role in increasing availabilities. Now, however, the Super Chargers have been put under the microscope after an investigation by the "ICT for Electromobility" funding project found irregularities in the charging network.
The problem lies in the lack of calibration of the charging stations, which is a clear violation of German calibration law. This states that every charging station in Germany where electricity is charged by the kilowatt hour must have a precise and calibrated electricity meter - in public areas as well as on company and private premises. As with a conventional petrol stop, the exact amount of electricity charged should also be displayed at the e-charging station. However, according to the investigation report, this is not the case with the Tesla Superchargers. Customers can no longer trust that they will be charged for the correct amount of electricity.
The fact that the Tesla charging stations are currently uncalibrated - and therefore illegal by law - is known to the German authorities. Although Tesla is thus breaking German law, they apparently can't do that much about it. "We proceed with the Tesla charging columns in the same way as with all other fast charging columns: The operation in violation of the law is not hindered and not sanctioned," explains Thomas Weberpals, head of the Bavarian State Office of Weights and Measures.
If Germany and the federal states were to enforce the current law - Weberpals goes on to say - "thousands of charging points would have to be retrofitted or shut down immediately". Only a retrofitting process of the e-pumps operated by Tesla could guarantee legal conformity for the state and at the same time ensure fair prices and services for customers.
However, completing such a device adaptation would be time-consuming and costly. Although the Berlin-Brandenburg State Office of Metrology and Verification, which is responsible for this, is already working on it, the system conversion could still take some time. This was also confirmed by Katharina Boesche, head of the ICT specialist group for legal research. In her opinion, it is to be expected "that the retrofitting process of fast charging infrastructure will drag on until the end of 2023."
Until then, it will remain unclear how much electricity people will get at Superchargers. News that will cause uncertainty among customers on the one hand and could lead to a decline in general confidence and interest in e-mobility on the other. An undesirable trend also for environmental reasons. Because the illegality of the Tesla charging network could damage the public image of the electric car sector, which should play a leading role in the decarbonisation of transport in Europe - and thus in achieving the climate targets.