- General Motors-made EVs, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV, can use the Tesla Supercharger network to recharge.
- Owners need an adapter to top up at NACS-equipped stalls.
- Some Bolt EVs need a software update that can be performed at a dealer.
Owners of General Motors-made EVs finally gained access to Tesla’s expansive Supercharger DC fast charging network in the United States last week, which is great news for those long road trips, seeing how the number of Superchargers in North America exceeds 17,000.
The list of cars that can be recharged at Tesla stalls includes names like the new Chevrolet Equinox EV, GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq. It also includes the venerable Chevy Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, which were once America’s most affordable new battery-powered cars before being discontinued (don’t fret, though, as the Bolt EUV is coming back with Ultium tech and an LFP battery.)
And it’s the Bolt that I’ll focus on here because, with over 200,000 units sold in the U.S. during its eight-year journey, it’s safe to say that there are still many of them on American roads today. It may not be the fastest-charging, the biggest or the most luxurious EV out there, but it’s always been the safe and affordable choice for those looking for an urban runabout.
Our own Tom Moloughney was one of the first people in the U.S. to charge the Bolt EV on a Tesla Supercharger. He made a rather helpful video, which I’ve embedded at the top of this page, and I’ll give you the gist of it in writing as well.
First, if you own a Chevrolet Bolt EV, you should know that some 2019 and 2020 model-year units will need a software update at the dealer to work with Tesla Superchargers. You’ll also need a CCS to NACS adapter, either from General Motors or a third party like A2Z or Lectron–the video covers several adapters.
Another thing to note is that only V3 Superchargers can be used to top-up non-Tesla EVs. You can find them by going to Tesla’s online Supercharger map and toggling the “Supercharger open to NACS” option.
With all this in mind, before you show up to a compatible Supercharger with your Bolt EV and an adapter at hand, you need to link your vehicle to a payment method in the MyChevrolet app, so that Tesla knows where to draw money from for the charging sessions. All apps must be up to date.
That’s a lot to take in, but once you get over all these initial steps, all you need to do is park front-first at a compatible Supercharger, plug in the cable, launch the MyChevrolet smartphone app, select the correct stall from the list and hit Charge Now.
In Tom Moloughney’s testing, both third-party adapters worked just fine, funneling the maximum charge rate that the Bolt EV supports–55 kW–without hiccups. The EV needed 49 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% state of charge, which, again, is normal Bolt EV behavior, but there was one issue where the car stopped charging at 70% SoC and needed to be unplugged and replugged to get to 80%. The charging curve was the same as on other charging operators such as EVgo and Electrify America, with the rate slowly going down after the battery state of charge passed the 55% mark.
So it’s all good. Almost. That’s because the Bolt EV’s charging port is on the front-left of the car, as opposed to the rear-left of Tesla EVs. This means you have to pull into the charger on the right, effectively taking up two stalls. It’s the same issue with Rivian EVs and the Ford F-150 Lightning. One solution to this problem is to try and charge at the right-most stall if there’s space to do so–if not, you’ll have to take up two places.
