Tesla has unveiled its first V4 Supercharger in the UK - and it is making it available to all electric car drivers, not just those who own a Tesla. This is marked change from the position of the Supercharger network previously, where only Tesla drivers could use it.

Elon Musk, Tesla's founder, has long been saying that the company would make its Superchargers available to all drivers. That's driven a change in charging sockets in the US, with many brands now adopting the Tesla charging connector, known as the North American Charging Standard. It seems there's an inevitable case of nominative determinism here.

For the UK and Europe the situation is slightly different. Teslas in the UK have been sold with the CCS connector - common charging standard - which is now the dominate connector in the UK and Europe. That sees the new Tesla V4 Supercharger equipped with a CCS plug, so it's not only available to UK Tesla drivers, but also the majority of cars of other brands.

Those familiar with the Tesla Supercharger Network in the UK will know that this isn't the first time this has happened - chargers in the UK have used CCS for some time, supporting the launch and popularity of the Tesla Model 3 particularly which was introduced with CCS in 2019. The difference here is that there's a 3-metre cable on the V4 Supercharger, to better accommodate the wide range of locations of charging ports across different brands.

There's also a contactless payment option on the new V4 Supercharger, which means people can tap and charge. Previously, Tesla drivers would connect to a Supercharger and everything happened automatically through the car, with details dropping into the Tesla app on your phone. To remove this handshaking barrier for drivers of other EVs, you'll be able to use this Supercharger as you would many other public charger, by connecting and tapping your payment card.

The other big advantage of the Tesla V4 Supercharger is that it offers up to 250kW charging rates. That's not quite as fast as some of the 350kW Ionity chargers that are available in the UK, but it's up there as one of the fastest around. That means that if you have a Genesis GV60 with 350kW charging support, or an Audi e-tron GT with 270kW charging, you'll be good to go in no time at all.

The first V4 Supercharger has been installed at the Tesla Centre in Tottenham and is now open to the public. There are currently over 1100 Tesla Superchargers in the UK with plans for new installations to be the V4 Supercharger. Some of the existing installations will be converted to the newer and more powerful charger.

The UK is experiencing a significant swing away from diesel especially and towards battery electric power, with approximately a 20 per cent increase in registrations in 2023 over 2022 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Establishing adequate infrastructure to charge the growing number of electric vehicles on the road is an ongoing challenge, but allowing access to Tesla chargers will ease the burden.

While that will help those in cars from VW, Hyundai or Ford, it remains to be seen what impact it will have on Tesla drivers. One of the biggest advantages that Tesla owners have is access to the Supercharger network; if that access is diminished because of open availability, the attractiveness of owning a Tesla may diminish too.