> Tesla still doesn't have a rival in charging network

Depends where you are I suppose. In addition to Tesla's network, Europe has:

- Ionity: https://ionity.eu/

- FastNed: https://fastnedcharging.com/en/

- Allego: https://www.allego.eu/

- GIREVE: https://www.gireve.com/en/

And more. All standardized on CCS type 2 plugs which is another plus.

It's the US where there currently isn't a strong "second place" to Tesla yet. There are a lot of competitors depending on region, but that's also the problem is that there are so many competitors that quality is a very broad spectrum and margins are low. VW's (US EPA mandated) Electrify America (and its alliance in turn with players like ChargePoint) is probably the one to watch for up-and-coming national second place competitor to Tesla's charging network, but they are years behind in build out right now.

How exclusive is the Tesla charging network? Is it available to use for other brands of electric car?

I have a Nissan leaf. When I talk to people about it, it amazes me how many people think anyone can use the Tesla network. Noone other than Tesla cars can!

And Teslas can use non-Tesla charging networks. Tesla should standardize on CCS plugs where it makes sense to (like they've done in Europe) and open their chargers up to other EVs.

Tesla was recently denied a government subsidy in New York because they're not offering CCS charging, which is fair enough. If they're not going to make it available to all EVs then the utility of the infrastructure is limited and they shouldn't get any discounts funded with public money:

https://electrek.co/2019/07/23/new-york-pressures-tesla-to-o...

Glad to hear about New York. We don't need more taxpayer money funding proprietary systems.

Umm, Tesla open sourced all of their IP.