• InsideEVs contributor and charging expert Tom Moloughney put Hansshow’s latest Tesla Supercharger extension cable to the test.
• In real-world testing, the 8-foot NACS to CCS1 DC fast-charging extension cable fell short of expectations.
• The cable is aimed at non-Tesla EV owners who often need to double park when using V3 Tesla Superchargers

Tens of thousands of Tesla Superchargers are now open to non-Tesla EVs in the United States, which can make life a lot easier for everybody, especially on long road trips. However, Superchargers were designed for Teslas, which have the charge port on the left rear of the car, whereas other EVs might have it somewhere else. 

It’s not the end of the world, but some EV owners are forced to double park at Superchargers because Tesla’s third-generation stalls have a pretty short cable designed exclusively for Teslas. 

To fix the issue, a company called Hansshow is selling an extension cable that also doubles as a DC fast charging adapter, promising to make life a lot easier for some EV owners. The second-generation version of the product was put to the test by Tom Moloughney, charging expert and InsideEVs contributor.

Tom put the first-generation product through its paces and found that it was a safety disaster waiting to happen,. He also tested the prototype for the second-gen model, which fixed all of its predecessor’s problems. Recently, he got his hands on the final version, but after a testing session that was unexpectedly cut short, he discovered that the prototype worked better than the finished product.

The cable is available in 5-foot and 8-foot lengths, and is rated for 1,000 volts and 350 amps. To really put it to the test, Tom wanted to keep the 8-foot version under stress for an hour straight, charging his Rivian R1S and Ford F-150 Lightning from a low state of charge, where both EVs ask for 500 amps at the beginning of the session. 

However, that plan didn’t work out. The Rivian stopped charging after 17 minutes while using the extension cable, despite the surface temperature of the cable never going over 100 degrees. A second attempt did not work, either.

The cable was plugged into the F-150 Lightning, and after eight minutes of charging, the session automatically stopped again.

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Moving over to another Tesla Supercharger stall didn’t help, either. Weirdly enough, the pre-production version of the cable, which looks exactly like the finished product, worked flawlessly in Tom’s charging sessions multiple times. It’s not clear why this latest product has missed the mark.

What’s more, there’s the price to consider, with the 8-foot version retailing for $729. That’s a lot of money, especially if you can’t rely on it. Additionally, owners who use something like this need to know that they’re doing it at their own risk, as all EV makers advise against using extension cables or charging adapters that are not manufacturer-approved. In case something goes wrong during a charging session, your warranty will likely not cover damages.

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Tesla has opened two new Suerpcharger stations in Australia, just weeks after hitting the milestone of opening its 150th Supercharger site in the country, and is also offering some staggering low charging prices.

The two new sites are at Braybrook in Victoria and Osborne Park in Western Australia, and include off-peak pricing pitched at record lows, just as drivers of petrol and diesel cars continue to deal with a surge in bowser prices as a result of the war in the Gulf.

The Driven last week reported on the cost advantages of driving an EV over an ICE (internal combustion engine) car, which are being highlighted in a new website with updates on a daily basis.

See our story: How far will $1 get you in a diesel car and an EV, and which cars are cheapest to drive?

The new Tesla Supercharger site at Osborne Park features 8-stalls and is open to both Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles, and includes – for the first time in W.A. – the company’s V4 superchargers with speeds of up to 322 kW.

Pricing for Tesla vehicles is as low as $0.32 per kWh, while non-Tesla vehicles can pay as little as $0.45 at times if charging without a Tesla Supercharger membership.

The other site is located in Melbourne’s inner western suburb of Braybrook with 4 stalls. Each of these is rated at 250 kW.

Incredibly, the pricing before 8am is just $0.27 per kWh for Tesla EVs, while non-Tesla vehicles pay $0.37. That’s cheaper than many AC chargers, let alone high speed reliable DC fast charging.

It’s also certainly cheaper than fuel for ICE vehicles in the current price cycle.

These two sites bring the total Tesla sites to 152 and comes in under two years after the 100th site opened in South Australia in September 2024.

Latest data compiled by carloop also shows the growth in our local Supercharger network, which now stands at 1,001 Supercharger bays.

Over the last 16 months, the number of Tesla Superchargers has grown by over 40%, making more reliable charging available across many parts of the country.

The most recent surge in sites have been focused in NSW, partially driven by co-funding of EV charging by the state government, so it’s good to see Tesla opening sites in other parts of the country too.

The latest sites are part of the significant global growth and also come just weeks after the company announced that it had hit its 80,000th supercharger, in France.

The recent surge in adoption and EV interest will also provide extra confidence to charge point operators to continue to grow infrastructure, which some saw being tested during parts of the Easter break.

With prices of Tesla’s DC chargers being as low as they are at times of the day, it’ll surely drive utilisation across its network in months to come.