Parts of Tesla's Supercharger network are open to any car — but short charging cables are causing chaos

• Tesla began to open some of its exclusive Supercharging stations to other electric vehicles earlier this year.

• But the cords are designed for Teslas, meaning that owners of some other cars need to use two spaces to plug in.

• Tesla plans to grant other EV owners access to at least 3,500 of its chargers by the end of 2024.

After years of teasers, Tesla began opening up its vast, exclusive network of Superchargers to drivers of other electric vehicles in the US earlier this year.

There's just one kink that Elon Musk hasn't ironed out: The charging cables, which were designed for Teslas, aren't long enough to comfortably accommodate some other cars. It means non-Teslas have had to park awkwardly to plug in. Or worse yet, park in the wrong spot, blocking off two charging stalls instead of one.

In March, Tesla opened a handful of its roughly 1,700 US charging stations to non-Tesla vehicles. It accomplished this rather elegantly, by retrofitting what it calls a "Magic Dock," an adapter that automatically attaches to let Chevrolets, Porsches, BMWs top up. (Tesla designed its own charging connector, while the rest of the industry uses a different standard.)

EV owners flocked to the stations to test them out, with many marveling online at the seamless process. But they also noticed a glaring flaw in the plan. All Teslas have their charging in the same spot on the back-left corner of the car. Superchargers themselves — and the surrounding parking spots — are designed to accommodate Teslas only.

That poses a problem when other electric cars, which may have their charging ports elsewhere, try to charge up.