[North America] - PCNA "AAA" Supercharger access request - Sample Letter

[daveo4EV]

Dear PCNA,

I am writing to you as a loyal and happy Porsche customer. I love my 2020 Taycan Turbo and it excels at all things except in one area. The North American CCS charging network is simply unacceptable in terms of quality, reliability, and customer experience. Fortunately for both of us there is an alternative that will greatly enhance my Porsche ownership experience, and your competitors in North America are showing the way. Frankly all Porsche EV need access to Tesla's supercharger network and that will greatly enhance my ownership experience and continued loyalty to the brand for future purchases.

In the short term (2024 or 2025) I am request the 3 A's (AAA)

• A1 - Access negotiated for the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM have done)
• A2 - Adapter to access the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM will do for their existing CCS vehicles)
• A3 - App to start/stop/bill my Supercharger charging sessions (we all know software can be done here - and frankly is no worse/better than how I activate my EA charging sessions with the myPorsche app since my 2020 Taycan does not support plug&charge)

The AAA listed above is a viable and technically feasible solution for alternatives to the dire state of CCS EV charging services and frankly necessary for the continued growth of Porsche EV's in North America. The above approach is also technically functional TODAY with existing fleet Taycan's as demonstrated by my existing Taycan charging happily at the Scotts Valley, CA Tesla supercharger.

Further integration questions, NACS port support, in car plug&charger, etc… can be left to future plans and longer term considerations. However lack of access to the Tesla Supercharger network in 2024 and beyond is going to be a severe competitive disadvantage and affect the long term value of all Porsche EV on the North American used market.

The AAA approach outlined above requires _NO_ modification to any existing Taycan (Macan or 718 EV) and provides 100% compatible access to Tesla's supercharger network greatly enhancing the desirability of Porsche EV products in North America. Porsche being recognized leader in Performance should want to provide access to the recognized leader in North American fast charging which is the Tesla Supercharger network.

I look forward to your prompt attention to this reasonable request and look forward to continuing to be a Porsche EV customer.

[Name]

[phone number]

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[daveo4EV]

Dear PCNA,

I am writing to you as a loyal and happy Porsche customer. I love my 2020 Taycan Turbo and it excels at all things except in one area. The North American CCS charging network is simply unacceptable in terms of quality, reliability, and customer experience. Fortunately for both of us there is an alternative that will greatly enhance my Porsche ownership experience, and your competitors in North America are showing the way. Frankly all Porsche EV need access to Tesla's supercharger network and that will greatly enhance my ownership experience and continued loyalty to the brand for future purchases.

In the short term (2024 or 2025) I am request the 3 A's (AAA)

• A1 - Negotiated Access to the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM have done)
• A2 - an Adapter to access the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM will do)
• A3 - an App to start/stop/bill my Supercharger charging sessions (we all know software can be done here)

The AAA listed above is a viable and technically feasible solution for alternatives to the dire state of CCS EV charging services and frankly necessary for the continued growth of Porsche EV's in North America. The above approach is also technically functional TODAY with existing fleet Taycan's as demonstrated by my existing Taycan charging happily at the Scotts Valley, CA Tesla supercharger.

Further integration questions, NACS port support, in car plug&charger, etc… can be left to future plans and longer term considerations. However lack of access to the Tesla Supercharger network in 2024 and beyond is going to be a severe competitive disadvantage and affect the long term value of all Porsche EV on the North American used market.

The AAA approach outlined above requires _NO_ modification to any existing Taycan (Macan or 718 EV) and provides 100% compatible access to Tesla's supercharger network greatly enhancing the desirability of Porsche EV products in North America. Porsche being recognized leader in Performance should want to provide access to the recognized leader in North American fast charging which is the Tesla Supercharger network.

I look forward to your prompt attention to this reasonable request and look forward to continuing to be a Porsche EV customer.

[Name]

[phone number]

sent to my SA/service manager - requested to forward to PCNA… I suggest we all do the same.

 

[fullmetalbaal]

Awesome!

I'm thinking of attaching the various pictures I have of failing, failed, crashed and otherwise unavailable EA stations on my various road trips. It would suck if EA becomes the dumping ground for all the german OEMs and all the companies driving actual volume (and hence a user base for a decent charging network) are on NACS.

Not sure how much sway this type of stuff has, but can't hurt!

 

[daveo4EV]

Dear PCNA,

I am writing to you as a loyal and happy Porsche customer. I love my 2020 Taycan Turbo and it excels at all things except in one area. The North American CCS charging network is simply unacceptable in terms of quality, reliability, and customer experience. Fortunately for both of us there is an alternative that will greatly enhance my Porsche ownership experience, and your competitors in North America are showing the way. Frankly all Porsche EV need access to Tesla's supercharger network and that will greatly enhance my ownership experience and continued loyalty to the brand for future purchases.

In the short term (2024 or 2025) I am request the 3 A's (AAA)

• A1 - Access negotiated for the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM have done)
• A2 - Adapter to access the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM will do for their existing CCS vehicles)
• A3 - App to start/stop/bill my Supercharger charging sessions (we all know software can be done here - and frankly is no worse/better than how I activate my EA charging sessions with the myPorsche app since my 2020 Taycan does not support plug&charge)

The AAA listed above is a viable and technically feasible solution for alternatives to the dire state of CCS EV charging services and frankly necessary for the continued growth of Porsche EV's in North America. The above approach is also technically functional TODAY with existing fleet Taycan's as demonstrated by my existing Taycan charging happily at the Scotts Valley, CA Tesla supercharger.

Further integration questions, NACS port support, in car plug&charger, etc… can be left to future plans and longer term considerations. However lack of access to the Tesla Supercharger network in 2024 and beyond is going to be a severe competitive disadvantage and affect the long term value of all Porsche EV on the North American used market.

The AAA approach outlined above requires _NO_ modification to any existing Taycan (Macan or 718 EV) and provides 100% compatible access to Tesla's supercharger network greatly enhancing the desirability of Porsche EV products in North America. Porsche being recognized leader in Performance should want to provide access to the recognized leader in North American fast charging which is the Tesla Supercharger network.

I look forward to your prompt attention to this reasonable request and look forward to continuing to be a Porsche EV customer.

[Name]

[phone number]

Porsche should also make the 400V/150 kW charging option standard - there now is no reason not to include this in every vehicle.

 

[Reg]

Can't Tesla do all of the above with no need for Porsche do to anything?

 

[daveo4EV]

Can't Tesla do all of the above with no need for Porsche do to anything?

yes they could but a few things need to happen

1. they need to decouple the MagicDock adapter and make a stand alone purchase
2. they need to "open up" their network to BYOA (bring your own Adapter)

to date they seem to lack motivation to do so with out engaging the EV vendor (note Ford & GM)…

so Porsche should call Tesla and make this happen - if Porsche is lazy they could have a minimal agreement w/Tesla but leave both the adapter (existing) and the app to Tesla - this is viable…

I prefer Porsche to be engaged but yes it does not require Porsche to do anything, but them doing nothing also means it may never happen.

 

[simcity]

Porsche / Audi already do four different regional styles of combo AC/DC sockets on the car and three regional variations of AC-only socket.

So I'm sure they could add another AC/DC socket type to the parts list without too much tech drama.

Politically though....?

 

[Reg]

I prefer Porsche to be engaged but yes it does not require Porsche to do anything, but them doing nothing also means it may never happen.

I thought Musk already announced that he is opening the network, presumably due to some financial benefits from the feds as well as a second source of income.

As far as the adapter, couldn't we just get one of the Ford or GM ones since it is not specific to the brand?

I certainly expect that Porsche decided to accelerate things, it would be by giving Tesla $ome rea$on$ to do $o

 

[Reg]

One other thing that VW has to consider is what their legal obligations are with regard to supporting EA. It would be interesting if they could re-negotiate that settlement to say, for instance, that they would invest that money into accelerating the Tesla network and give the EA locations to Tesla or something like that.

I am assuming that VW itself has some on going obligations or financial tie-in with EA, but I could be wrong on that.

 

[daveo4EV]

I thought Musk already announced that he is opening the network, presumably due to some financial benefits from the feds as well as a second source of income.

As far as the adapter, couldn't we just get one of the Ford or GM ones since it is not specific to the brand?

I certainly expect that Porsche decided to accelerate things, it would be by giving Tesla $ome rea$on$ to do $o

the adapter is insufficient with out app/nework access to activate the charging session…or in car plug&charge support for superchargers - both require "permission" from Tesla…

• Ford and GM are moving charging session start/stop/billing to their apps
• Tesla vehicle's support plug&charge - no app required or even supported
• the Tesla app only supports charge session activation for non-Tesla's at "magic dock" sites…(12 so far in the US - more promised by end of 2024 but who knows)

rather than leave it to chance Porsche should take control of their EV customer experience and provide:

• Access - negotiated w/Tesla is required rather than leaving it to chance or whim
• Adapter
  • again this could be negotiated that Tesla makes the adapter available for purchase on the Tesla website or Porsche ads it to their accessories parts list
• App based start/stop/billing for supercharger sessions
  • again this could be myPorsche supporting Supercharger access like they already do for EA, or…
  • Porsche gets Tesla to "add" porsche customer access via PorscheID verification to their existing Tesla app for non-Tesla supercharger access support

and yes Tesla could all of this with out Porsche - but so far Musk isn't going that route, so maybe Porsche should step up, swallow some pride and let us all charge at Superchargers and give Musk his do for making a functional network in North America...

for Porsche no to engage on this topic means they are not taking their EV charging experience seriously in North America.

 

[daveo4EV]

3 things are required

• access - this requires Tesla's permission - either by car vendor (ford/GM) or blanket unilateral support (Europe & magic dock)
• adapter - again Tesla could do this or EV manufacturers can do this (either at the station via MagicDock or BYOA)
• app - session start/stop/billing/account (either the Tesla app or vendor integration into the app of their choice)

obviously to date Tesla is not "fixing" this problem in North America without EV vendors coming to them - that's ok - it's a business decision and paying for access to something is a time tested business practice...

Porsche can either leave AAA to someone else's whim - or they can engage and make AAA happen for their customers…

I do NOT care HOW this happens - but a North American EV with out supercharger network access in 2024 and beyond is not a viable product in my opinion…

NACS is a separate issue from Network access - but NACS implies access so that is where people get all confused.

 

[Reg]

obviously to date Tesla is not "fixing" this problem in North America without EV vendors coming to them - it's a business decision

It seems they have already made that decision since there is now money on the table.

By late 2024, Tesla would open 3,500 new and existing Superchargers along highway corridors to non-Tesla customers, the Biden administration said. It would also offer 4,000 slower chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants.

Biden wrote on Twitter that the plan to open a "big part" of Tesla's network to all drivers was a "big deal" and would "make a big difference."

In response, Tesla Chief Executive Musk said, "Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs via our Supercharger network." Feb 23, 2023.

Feb 23, 2023.

Of course, would be good if Porsche did something to make sure this happens, but Tesla's bigger incentive is to grab some of that $7.5B in federal funding to expand EV usage/

 

[daveo4EV]

Dear PCNA,

I am writing to you as a loyal and happy Porsche customer. I love my 2020 Taycan Turbo and it excels at all things except in one area. The North American CCS charging network is simply unacceptable in terms of quality, reliability, and customer experience. Fortunately for both of us there is an alternative that will greatly enhance my Porsche ownership experience, and your competitors in North America are showing the way. Frankly all Porsche EV need access to Tesla's supercharger network and that will greatly enhance my ownership experience and continued loyalty to the brand for future purchases.

In the short term (2024 or 2025) I am request the 3 A's (AAA)

• A1 - Access negotiated for the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM have done)
• A2 - Adapter to access the North American Supercharger Network (like Ford & GM will do for their existing CCS vehicles)
• A3 - App to start/stop/bill my Supercharger charging sessions (we all know software can be done here - and frankly is no worse/better than how I activate my EA charging sessions with the myPorsche app since my 2020 Taycan does not support plug&charge)

The AAA listed above is a viable and technically feasible solution for alternatives to the dire state of CCS EV charging services and frankly necessary for the continued growth of Porsche EV's in North America. The above approach is also technically functional TODAY with existing fleet Taycan's as demonstrated by my existing Taycan charging happily at the Scotts Valley, CA Tesla supercharger.

Further integration questions, NACS port support, in car plug&charger, etc… can be left to future plans and longer term considerations. However lack of access to the Tesla Supercharger network in 2024 and beyond is going to be a severe competitive disadvantage and affect the long term value of all Porsche EV on the North American used market.

The AAA approach outlined above requires _NO_ modification to any existing Taycan (Macan or 718 EV) and provides 100% compatible access to Tesla's supercharger network greatly enhancing the desirability of Porsche EV products in North America. Porsche being recognized leader in Performance should want to provide access to the recognized leader in North American fast charging which is the Tesla Supercharger network.

I look forward to your prompt attention to this reasonable request and look forward to continuing to be a Porsche EV customer.

[Name]

[phone number]

issue resolved on Nov. 10th, 2025 - ~2.5 years after this was the obvious choice/decision - it works great - I've already tested on my 2024 Macan.

we now have:

1. Negotiated access to V3/V4 superchargers in North America
2. an Adapter (see below)
3. an app to start/stop charging sessions - you can use the Tesla app or myPorsche app to start/stop charging sessions and deal with billing.
   1. V4 stations have a Point-of-Sale terminal that works with tap-to-pay credit cards - so that's an alternative method to start a charging session…

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