The plug is open, yes. But *superchargers* are not.
Everyone seems to mistake “switching to NACS” as “able to charge at superchargers” but that is not the case. Being able to charge at superchargers leaves you at the mercy of Tesla, which absolutely encourages them to monopolize charging stations given their significant lead.
I’d rather have multiple players than leave all our infrastructure to Tesla, personally.
Very good clarification.
NACS protocol is public but Tesla Supercharger is private and only Tesla can allow an owner to access their charge.
NACS protocol is not a monopoly because numerous charging companies (ChargePoint, EVgo...) already announced that they already can accommodate NACS cars.
BP (yes, that's oil company) already bought Tesla Supercharger hardware for its own NACS network.
Ford, GM, Rivian... already had plan for their own CCS1 networks but now, with the deal, they will also have NACS plugs.
NACS would become a monopoly if there's only one company uses it. Why let Tesla have the monopoly by us not using it? By joining NACS, we break up the NACS monopoly because even an oil company has already jumped in.
It is true that Tesla Supercharger is a monopoly that's owned by Tesla but while we wait for more Fast DC chargers come on line, it's a good resource to use.
In the capitalist market, expensive and unreliable charging companies will be shunned by consumers whether it's a monopoly or not.
Us, car drivers are consumers but Ford, GM, BP... are also consumers who look for the best deal to support their Fast DC Charging networks too.