GM electric vehicles can finally access Tesla Superchargers

General Motors says it has updated the bundle successful its electrical vehicles truthful its customers tin yet usage Tesla’s Supercharging network.

To summation contiguous access, owners of electrical Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC vehicles volition request to acquisition “GM approved” Tesla adapters done each brand’s smartphone app for $225. Future GM vehicles volition travel with Tesla’s charging larboard natively installed.

The announcement comes much than 15 months aft GM archetypal announced it would follow Tesla’s EV charging plug for its vehicles. The automaker had primitively said it expected to implicit the bundle coordination with Tesla by “early spring” 2024, but production bottlenecks and layoffs astatine Tesla person delayed the process.

GM celebrated the news, noting that its customers volition present person entree to 17,800 Tesla Supercharger plugs for the archetypal time. The deficiency of convenient and reliable charging is often cited successful surveys of customers arsenic a large obstacle to purchasing an electrical vehicle. And Tesla’s Superchargers are wide seen arsenic among the champion EV charging networks successful the world.

Starting with Ford past year, astir each large automaker has publically committed to adopting the SAE J3400 accelerated charging plug, besides known arsenic the North American Charging Standard (NACS). The process volition statesman with a bundle update truthful non-Tesla vehicles tin “talk” to Tesla’s Superchargers, arsenic good arsenic the usage of an adapter.

GM says it plans connected sourcing its NACS-approved adapters from aggregate suppliers. That way, it’s not conscionable relying connected Tesla, which makes its ain adapters astatine its gigafactory successful Buffalo, New York, wherever accumulation has been slow. Several different companies besides marque NACS adapters, including Lectron and Qmerit.

Within the adjacent fewer years, automakers accidental they volition statesman producing EVs with the NACS larboard built straight into the vehicle, enabling them to complaint astatine Tesla stations without an adapter.

GM’s determination to merchantability the adapters, alternatively than springiness them distant for escaped arsenic immoderate different companies person done, whitethorn ruffle immoderate feathers. Both Ford and Rivian gave retired escaped adapters for a constricted clip earlier making customers bargain them. But GM said it won’t beryllium offering immoderate complimentary play to its customers.

GM is besides updating its marque apps to let customers to hunt for disposable Superchargers, cheque presumption status, initiate a charge, and wage for charging sessions. Tesla has said that non-Tesla owners would person to wage a small much to complaint their vehicles than Tesla owners.

Tesla had a caput commencement successful gathering its ain EV charging network, but different automakers are intent connected catching up. GM is besides progressive successful respective projects to physique caller accelerated EV chargers, including with EVgo and a consortium of different automakers done the Ionna associated venture.

Following GM, Tesla has said that it volition coordinate adjacent with Volvo, Polestar, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz to assistance their customers entree to Superchargers.