Tesla CCS ‘Magic Docks’ Revealed, But With Short Cords, Can Non-Tesla Cars Really Charge At Them?

On the heels of the announced agreement between the White House and Tesla to have 3,500 (10%) of Tesla Supercharger stalls made to support non-Tesla cars using CCS by the end of 2024, some of the first of these stalls appeared near the Tesla factory in Buffalo, NY. These stalls have the built in CCS adapter known as the “Magic Dock” but otherwise have the same short charging cord common to Tesla Superchargers — a cord that can’t readily reach the charging ports on many non-Tesla cars.

Tesla cars all have their charging port on the left rear corner of the car. Drivers must back in to the Supercharger, and get quite close to it to get the cord to plug in. Other cars, which use the CCS plug for fast charging, have their charge ports in many other locations around the car. No other major carmaker uses the precise left rear corner, though some, like some models of the Hyundai Ioniq and Polestar, use a position within a foot of there. It would be hard to get it to reach.

You can also make this cord reach if your car has a port on the right front, and you go in forwards, however this is not a common configuration.

Tesla’s magic dock works by having the regular Tesla connector dock into a box that contains a Tesla-to-CCS adapter. Drivers of CCS cars can use the Tesla app to ask the charger to release the adapter, and lock the Tesla connector into the adapter. As such, when they tug on the cord, they will get out a cord with a CCS plug on the end. When Tesla owners pull out the cord (they have to press a button) they get their usual cord.

That’s all very clever and compact, but it’s not clear what that’s going to do for CCS drivers eager for access to Tesla’s charging network, widely considered significantly superior to other networks.

Other cars can connect if they park in the wrong way. For example, a car with the port on the front left like the Rivian, Kona, Lucid, Niro or Soul, could park in a Tesla stall and just use the charging station to the left. Since Tesla’s must use the one to the right, this will create a problem — they will use the stall needed for a Tesla parking to the side of them.

Cars could also park sideways, blocking two spaces. A Tesla team tested out the station using a Rivian. While the Rivian could park forwards and use the wrong charger, for testing it was easier to park sideways. In Europe, where Tesla has already opened up charging to other cars, they are sometimes seen parking sideways.

If other stalls follow this configuration, there is going to be consternation if non Tesla drivers block Tesla stalls to use them. It is possible this cable is slightly longer than the usual one. If so it might reach the Ioniq, Polestar and Volvo. Many cars will be in trouble without blocking a stall. If they “Dock Block” and the station gets full so that a Tesla owner can’t charge, there’s going to be some charging lot rage — and backlash against Tesla from its customers. It’s frankly a bit surprising that Tesla would not have considered this, so perhaps they have a solution. Unfortunately, Tesla does not respond to media questions.

These stations also don’t include Tesla’s standard black and yellow or white striped backstop, which Tesla drivers must actually put under their bumper to access the charger.

There are some other solutions, in addition to using longer cords. Tesla cords are special and have liquid cooling inside. With the short length they can’t fall onto the pavement where they might get driven over by cars and damaged.

Above is a photo of a Supercharger in Chico, CA. This charger is put on an island, and so there are parking spaces (angled) behind the charger. In this photo, a Tesla driver is using one, which takes it away from whoever might park in the space on the other side, but all chargers can be used. A station like this could be striped to let people park like Teslas on one side, and forward cars like the Rivian on the other. We’ll see what Tesla builds.

Tesla has limited ability to stop Dock Blocking. If it talks the “Plug and Charge” protocol it could identify some cars, and refuse to charge those who can’t reach the cord. It could also ask those who register to note what sort of car they had, though it may not be easy to prevent a false declaration. It could allow people to complain and then revoke privileges for false declaration. It could have cameras to detect cars in the wrong spot — it could even use all the spare ultrasonics it is no longer installing in its cars to do that. But there’s no sign of that happening, so we’ll need to wait to see if other stations are different or there is another solution.

It is also not impossible that extension cords might arrive for some cars, but due to the high currents and heat, they would need to be approved and probably get a lower charge rate. Such a cord could also be stored in a locker at the station which can be unlocked with the app, perhaps with a rental fee.

Thanks to alert Tesla driver Fran Schrader for photographing this new station and providing these photos.