After months of delays, GM electric vehicle owners can recharge at Tesla Supercharger stations at last. GM’s Supercharger access was supposed to begin in the spring, but software delays on Tesla’s side reportedly kept pushing it back. Now, though, GM EV owners can use 17,800 Supercharger stations across the United States and Canada. But there’s a catch—they still need adapters, and those are proving hard to come by.
Tesla Supercharger stations use the North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug, while GM and nearly every other automaker previously incorporated Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors. To join the two, owners will need a CCS-to-NACS adapter. Tesla is currently making adapters for legacy automakers, but not quickly enough. GM has a third-party supplier building adapters to help meet the demand, but its supply is still limited, too. When will GM be able to get adapters to its customers? “Our intent is to do that in the most expedient way possible,” Vice President of GM Energy Wade Shaffer told InsideEVs. So, yeah—still unclear.
GM EV drivers have to download their make’s respective app—MyChevrolet, MyCadillac, or MyGMC—to order an adapter. The app will also show adapter availability. There are two more catches, though. First, GM customers have to pay for their adapters, which cost $225, while Ford and Rivian are distributing them to owners for free, with a limit of one per vehicle. Second, even with the adapter, GM customers can’t just plug in and charge at Tesla stations, like Tesla owners can. Instead, they have to break out their phones to use a GM or Tesla app to initiate charging. Ford customers can just plug in and walk away, letting the car and Supercharger authorize payment.
“The app experience—the ability to start, stop, find, charge, and pay at that Supercharger Network—is going to be outstanding, both here in the U.S. and in Canada,” Shaffer reportedly said.
Caveats aside, this is ultimately good news for any owners of GM Ultium EVs, such as the Cadillac Lyriq or Chevy Equinox EV. If they have an adapter, they can start using Superchargers immediately. Chevy Bolt owners can use Superchargers too, but they’ll require a software update first. GM simply needs to get those adapters out quicker.
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