US automaker GM has finally opened access for its EV owners to more than 17,800 charging pints in the supercharger network of rival OEM Tesla, more than five quarters after it originally struck a deal to utilise them. The timing is materially later than the “early 2024” target when the partnership was agreed in June last year.
Drivers will need to purchase a $225 GM-approved North American Charging Standard (NACS) DC adapter. These will first be made available to customers in the US, followed by availability for Canadian customers later this year. Multiple suppliers will make the adapters for GM, and they can be purchased through GM vehicle brand mobile apps.
Customers will be able to also use the same apps to locate available Tesla superchargers, check station status, initiate a charge, and pay for charging sessions.
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“GM’s ongoing efforts to help accelerate the expansion of public charging infrastructure is an integral part of our commitment to an all-electric future,” says Wade Sheffer, vice-president of GM Energy. “Enabling access to even more publicly available fast chargers represents yet another way GM is focused on further improving the customer experience and making the transition to electric more seamless.”
With the addition of the Tesla Supercharger Network, GM customers will have access to more than 231,800 public Level 2 and DC fast chargers in North America, a number GM is committed to increasing through a range of charging initiatives. The firm is developing its own-brand and co-branded charging stations, is a member of the Ionna OEM-backed charging standalone, and has access partnerships with other charge point operators.
So far, prior to GM drivers getting access, only US OEMs Ford and Rivan have translated agreements with Tesla to access their NACS chargers into actually being able to use the network. Other OEMs that have also come to arrangements with Tesla will likely follow in months to come, which has led to some concerns over impending capacity crunches at the best-located supercharger sites.
And, of course, since GM and the vast majority of other OEMS that make EVs for the North American market signed up for supercharger access, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken a scalpel to the charging team at his firm. This has led to doubts over the future pace of the network's expansion, as well as about abilities to maintain the high levels of uptime and customer satisfaction that have marked out the chargers as best-in-class.
GM plans to integrate the NACS connector design into its EVs beginning in 2025, meaning that future GM models will not need an adapter.
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