- GM’s electric vehicles got access to Tesla Superchargers last month.
- The experience of charging a non-Tesla at a Supercharger was a little awkward.
- For the first time driving an electric Chevy, I didn’t experience any range anxiety.
For the better part of a week, I was the lone Chevy at my local Tesla Superchargers.
GM vehicles had only just gained access to the sprawling network days before, and the company had provided me with a NACS adapter for free (Chevrolet owners have to order them for $225), so I wasn’t expecting it when another Chevrolet Equinox EV pulled up across from me.
I watched an older man get out and tinker with the charging cord, walking back and forth from his car to the stall. Before I could offer to help, a flock of Tesla owners amassed to troubleshoot with him.
Ultimately, he didn’t have the adapter he needed, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the Tesla owners welcome him and encourage him to return once he had the adapter.
After spending the week worrying that the Tesla owners were judging me and wondering what a Chevy was doing on their turf — or worse, assuming I was crowding up their space — I was relieved to see the typical camaraderie extended to us outsiders.
Access to Elon Musk’s charging network is the latest improvement GM has made to charging access for electric vehicle owners. GM also recently announced an expansion of its public charging network with EVgo, teasing new GM Energy-branded charging hubs that look like gas stations.
For a long time, the Supercharger network was a selling point for EV shoppers worried about range anxiety. Tesla’s Supercharger network is the largest fast-charging network in North America, with about 20,000 DC fast chargers that previously only connected to Teslas — and easily one of the most reliable.
I’ve driven plenty of non-Tesla EVs, and I know the extreme disappointment of driving past a large bank of empty Superchargers while hunting for a place to plug in.
So when GM offered to hook me up with the Equinox EV and an NACS adapter for the week, I decided to charge exclusively at Superchargers to see if it improved the experience.
