Tesla Launches Virtual Waitlist Pilot for Superchargers

Tesla has launched a new Virtual Waitlist to address a rare but relevant Supercharger problem. The feature solves sequencing confusion when there is a line to charge at one of the company's locations.

The development follows Teslarati reporting last month on what was called the Virtual Queue. In rare occurrences, there were physical altercations at Superchargers when someone might have cut in line. Tesla started to develop a system that would resolve this issue, and it is now rolling it out.

The pilot program, which Tesla is calling the Waitlist, was announced on May 11 on the official TeslaCharging X account. It is currently active at sites in Los Gatos, Mountain View, and San Francisco in California, as well as San Jose, California, and the Bronx, New York at East Gun Hill Road. The specific California addresses are Los Gatos Boulevard, El Monte Avenue, Lombard Street, and Saratoga Avenue.

Drivers are encouraged to share feedback directly through the Tesla app to refine the system before a potential broader rollout. The TeslaCharging account posted that it is now testing a new waitlist feature at 5 Supercharger sites and asked users to share feedback through the Tesla app to help make it better.

Tesla released a video to showcase the feature. It automatically joins the waitlist when a vehicle has the Supercharger with the wait as the destination in the navigation. There is also a notification that lets drivers know their place in line. In the example shown, the wait is less than five minutes with two cars ahead.

Having a wait at a Supercharger is relatively rare but does happen. It is even more frequent now that there are more EVs allowed to use the Supercharger Network. Non-Tesla EVs can also join the queue using the Tesla app, according to the social media release of the pilot program.

The program should help alleviate the rare risk of incidents at Superchargers. Tesla will expand this program as it sees fit and gathers valuable data and reviews from users.