As of Wednesday, GM Ultium EV owners across America will be able to cop an adapter and charge up on the go using a network of more than 17,800 Tesla Superchargers. No more constantly checking PlugShare to see if a CCS station is down, just roll up, plug in, and go. However, this great news comes with a few caveats, including the fact that General Motors electric vehicle owners will have to fork over more cash that Ford owners did when the Blue Oval rolled out Supercharger access.
That’s because instead of shipping free adapters to customers, GM is selling its adapter for $225. Yep, that’s $225 if you want to charge your GM EV on Tesla’s Supercharger network before you even pay for the charging itself. While it’s understandable that these adapters can’t be subsidized forever, a little courtesy would be nice, especially when you consider how GM really wants you to use it.
If you’re thinking that you can find an adapter cheaper than that, you’d be right. For instance, A2Z EV sells an adapter for $197, and Lectron sells an adapter for $199.99, both promising useful savings over GM’s own adapter, even if they do look like they could be slightly bulkier at first glance.
However, you might want to think twice before ordering. That’s because GM makes it abundantly clear that if you don’t use the company’s NACS adapter, your battery warranty could go up in smoke. As per the automaker:
GM strongly advises that customers use a GM-approved NACS DC adapter for charging on the Tesla Supercharger Network, which has been specifically designed to protect GM EV batteries while charging. Customers who leverage an adapter which is not sold or provided by GM could potentially damage the EV’s battery which could potentially void portions of the vehicle’s limited warranty.
On the one hand, substandard adapters are something to look out for. On the other, not being able to use a quality third-party adaptor with integrated temperature sensors and overheat protection out of warranty fears seems absolutely insane, especially if availability of GM’s own adapter is limited for whatever reason, including if you damaged your unit by leaving both it and a bowling ball loose in the trunk. Hey, Looney Tunes situations happen sometimes.
Still, assuming you do fork over the $225 for the adapter, you’ll first need to download an app specific to your model of car, either myChevy, myGMC, or myCadillac. Then you’ll need to set up the charging section of the app with your credit card information, and then you’ll be able to plug in the adapter and charge at V3 and V4 Tesla Supercharger stations.
While it’s great news that GM’s Ultium EVs can now be charged at Tesla stations, the stipulations around using only GM’s adapter seem insane. Much like how smartphones have approved third-party accessories, developing a list of approved third-party charging adapters would go a long way toward easing access.
(Photo credits: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac)
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Update, per SOC’s latest video GM says they “will be using multiple suppliers”. While they sent Tom one early and it is a Magic Dock adapter, apparently multiple people have found a picture the Lectron unit when they attempted to purchase an adapter through the GM app. So it appears that GM has convinced Tesla that the Lectron unit is safe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=658i-Pu9d3M Of course GM will know if they sent you an adapter or not and if you’ve initiated a charging session at a Supercharger. So they could in theory void your warranty for using an adapter that you didn’t purchase from them. It won’t be too long until the UL certification is complete, the adapter mfgs submit their devices for testing and GM will change their wording to state that the use of a non-UL approved adapter may void your warranty.
I thought I was cheap, but buying a third party adapter to save a lousy $25 sounds like a silly gamble. Free would be nice, but if I have to buy one I want the genuine article and my warranty.
“[Y]ou’ll first need to download an app”
Oof. Doesn’t make EVs very appealing to those who still pay cash up front when filling up their ICE vehicles (insert the Arrested Development “There are dozens of us! Dozens!!” gif) which includes my own Luddite self. Plus, I’ve had my phone die, due to either running out of charge or a physical malfunction, one too many times for me to trust a phone for a potentially vital app when taking road trips. Surely I’m not the only one with such reservations about something so heavily app-dependent.
Most Tesla chargers operate by identifying the vehicle connected and charging an associated account/card. By entering your card in the GM app you are simply providing that association. Once you do that, you presumably do not need to use the app to charge. You roll up, plug in, and you get charged^2.
I don’t think there are ANY fast chargers out there that take cash. You can either pay with a credit card(at most) or using the associated app to the charger. EVGo now supports plug and charge as well.
Apparently you do have to do something if you are charging a GM vehicle at a Supercharger. For whatever reason the current set up does not allow plug and charge. You either have to open your My Chevy app on your phone and enter the unit number of the charger you are plugging into or pull up the charging screen and enter the unit number and press charge now. Meanwhile with a Ford or Rivian you can plug and charge at the compatible Superchargers.
This does sound more like GM’s engineers & lawyers CYA than them trying to squeeze a few bucks off a few thousand adapters.
tl;dr you’ll most likely be fine with a quality adapter but GM doesn’t want to go into a discussion of what constitutes a quality adapter other than the one they sell.
These adapters literally have to handle up to 350,000 watts. When I bought an adapter to use CCS on my Tesla, I paid $200 to Tesla to get the “real” adapter instead of spending $50 from some part that has a near 0% of being UL listed or actually fully tested to the charger or car company’s specification.
I’m usually pretty sympathetic towards the arguments of why things can’t be free, but this isn’t one of those times. One for every owner who bought their GM EV new and still owns it seems like cheap good will and a no-brainer.
Especially since Ford and Rivian are giving the genuine Tesla adapter to existing owners, IF they request it and including them with new vehicles being delivered with the CCS ports. Meanwhile GM is selling genuine Tesla and non-Tesla adapters to current and future owners.
Given how expensive most of the GM EV vehicles are, the extra $50 to buy the approved and certified adapter vs. another adapter (that will void the battery warranty) is just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall price of the vehicle and the price of battery replacement if it goes up in smoke.
So will GM build in Tesla charger ports on later cars or will Tesla add GM compatible plugs to their chargers? Its pretty annoying to have to buy and cart around an adapter.
Pretty sure GM is standardizing on NACS starting in 2025
I’d be limiting myself if I wanted to use Tesla charges in Quebec.
There’s only 31 station (don’t know how many chargers/per).
There’s over 1000 DC fast charging in one other network alone.
If the original owner uses a non-approved adaptor then later sells it, would GM cover it or not? Will cars get some kind of scarlet letter so people know they have been forever tainted?
The car isn’t even going to know unless something goes terribly wrong.
GM will know if you charged at a supercharger and didn’t buy one from them.
Unlikely. GM doesn’t own the points of sale of its products.