If you own an electric vehicle from General Motors, it’s about to be much easier to charge it in public. GM just announced a solution to open up its EVs to more than 17,800 Tesla Superchargers in the United States and later Canada. As a reminder, Tesla uses a different charging standard called NACS (North American Charging Standard), while every other automaker uses CCS (Combined Charging System). After the White House offered Tesla funds to expand its charging network, NACS was chosen as the default standard and automakers soon announced that they would make the switch from CCS.
GM was one of the first automakers to announce the change to NACS, but the company has not yet confirmed which upcoming EV will be the first to offer it natively. Thus far, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the upcoming Lucid Gravity are the only non-Tesla EVs that are confirmed to include NACS from the factory. That means GM EV owners will need to tote around an adapter.
“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. 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.”
– Wade Sheffer, Vice President of GM Energy
How To Use Tesla Stations
To enable charging at a Tesla station, customers will need to purchase a GM-approved NACS DC adapter, priced at $225. The adapter can be purchased through the GM Vehicle Mobile App starting later this year and is not currently available through dealerships. This adapter will give drivers access to more than 17,800 Superchargers, though it will not work for Level 2 stations. GM says Tesla L2 Destination chargers will be available too, opening up more than 231,800 public stations (including Superchargers), but it does not specifically mention a NACS to J1772 adapter for this purpose.
GM says its owners will not need to download the Tesla Mobile App, making the charging experience slightly more seamless than it is with Ford or Rivian, both of which currently offer Tesla charging with an adapter. The GM Vehicle Mobile App will let drivers find a charging station, check station status, initiate the charge, and pay. It’s as easy as that, and simplicity is key to a great EV ownership experience.
Which Cars Are Eligible?
General Motors doesn’t specify which vehicles will be compatible with the adapter, but it’s safe to assume that any of the recent Ultium platform vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox EV and GMC Hummer EV Pickup will work as advertised. A dealer memo mentions that “some existing [Chevrolet] Bolt customers, specifically MY19 & MY20 vehicles, may require a software update to ensure a successful charging experience.” It’s unclear if the original 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will work with the adapter. GM has promised that by 2025, all of its vehicles will include NACS, and will no longer require an adapter. This means upcoming EVs like the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq should forgo the need for this stop-gap.
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