Rivian took over my Tesla Supercharging session and charged me more than double?

[cobo]

I'm reposting an email I just sent to Rivian about a charging session I had yesterday at a Tesla SC where I was using the Tesla app. I have only had my used 2025 R1S for about a month so I am new to chargin the Rivian, or even paying for charging for that matter, but what happened here seems very strange and even a bit shady. Have a read and let me know if any of you have experienced this?

------------
Hi-

Something very wrong happened here. I am a Tesla owner as well (free lifetime charging for a Model X) and have a Tesla account setup for charging my Rivian. I arrived at this charger with my Rivian, went into my Tesla app, selected charging a non-Tesla Vehicle, selected the charger (1D in this case), and then plugged in the vehicle, verified it was charging and then went to a store and came back when it was charged and drove away. My Tesla app even indicated that this was a discounted charging time, $0.3x/kWh at the time I was charging.

Somehow you (Rivian) took over this charging session (how is this even possible?) and instead charged me more than double the kWh price? I don’t understand how this even happened, but I need to get refunded for this as I never authorized you to bill me or control my charging at Tesla Superchargers. I have charged at many SCs before with this Rivian and never had this happen. If I’m not able to prevent this in the future I would like to remove my charging account with you for this vehicle. I don’t use Rivian chargers (except once to just try it) and don’t want you to interfere with my Tesla-based charging like this.

Thanks,
Colby

On May 12, 2026, at 9:34 PM, Rivian <[email protected]> wrote:

Tuesday, May 12 in Grass Valley You're all set Here's the receipt from your charging session on May 12, 2026 at 8:55:11pm for the vehicle VIN ending in 5xxxx. You added 80.5928 kWh in 37 minutes 47 seconds at Tesla, Grass Valley. Payment Method Visa ending in ---- Total $ 58.03 80.5928 kWh Price Details $0.72/kWh + $58.03 May 12, 2026 8:55:11pm – May 12, 2026 9:32:58pm 80.5928 kWh Session Details 80.5928 kWh added in 37 min 47 sec $58.03 total Order ID #278618396 May 12, 8:55:11pm – May 12, 9:32:58pm Charger Location Tesla 692, Freeman Lane , Grass Valley, CA 95949 Charger ID 1D Grass Valley, CA 14600 Myford Rd., Irvine, CA 92606, USA ©2025 Rivian | All Rights Reserved Terms (US) (CA) Charging Terms (US) (CA) Data Privacy Notice

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[SANZC02]

I'm reposting an email I just sent to Rivian about a charging session I had yesterday at a Tesla SC where I was using the Tesla app. I have only had my used 2025 R1S for about a month so I am new to chargin the Rivian, or even paying for charging for that matter, but what happened here seems very strange and even a bit shady. Have a read and let me know if any of you have experienced this?

------------
Hi-

Something very wrong happened here. I am a Tesla owner as well (free lifetime charging for a Model X) and have a Tesla account setup for charging my Rivian. I arrived at this charger with my Rivian, went into my Tesla app, selected charging a non-Tesla Vehicle, selected the charger (1D in this case), and then plugged in the vehicle, verified it was charging and then went to a store and came back when it was charged and drove away. My Tesla app even indicated that this was a discounted charging time, $0.3x/kWh at the time I was charging.

Somehow you (Rivian) took over this charging session (how is this even possible?) and instead charged me more than double the kWh price? I don’t understand how this even happened, but I need to get refunded for this as I never authorized you to bill me or control my charging at Tesla Superchargers. I have charged at many SCs before with this Rivian and never had this happen. If I’m not able to prevent this in the future I would like to remove my charging account with you for this vehicle. I don’t use Rivian chargers (except once to just try it) and don’t want you to interfere with my Tesla-based charging like this.

Thanks,
Colby
415.815.8814

Did Tesla give you a receipt as well? I’ve charged many times with my Rivian at an SC, only time Rivian charged me was once when I plugged in before Tesla finished the initialization. I never got a receipt or acknowledgement from Tesla for that session.

As a side note, I’ve never seen the discount where the non-Tesla rate was double the membership rate, it is typically in the 20% range. Where was this SC at, curious what the posted fees are.

 

[cobo]

So to be clear, I have a Tesla membership / account. When I arrived at the SC my Tesla app told me the charging would be $0.34/kWh, which is less than it is during the day at something like $0.4x/kWh, so I thought that was a nice bonus. I pretty much charge exclusively at SCs since they are ubiquitous and we are in the process of building a new home an workshop that will have 80A L2 and 150kW DCFC installations fed from a total of 0.5MWh of LFP and LMO storage, but have nothing substantial yet.

I did everything I normally do in the Tesla app to start charging. I did NOT look at the Tesla app once charging had started, which I'm sure would have shown that the car was not charging, even though I could see on the dash I was already hitting "520mi/hr" charging rate. I couldn't have dreamed that Rivian had actually taken over the charging session...

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

I've found this happens when you plug in too fast after selecting the stall in the Tesla app. Once I pick the post number, I wait ~10 seconds before plugging in. Since doing that, I haven’t had a single Rivian‑billed session on my Tesla membership. YMMV.

 

[cobo]

I've found this happens when you plug in too fast after selecting the stall in the Tesla app. Once I pick the post number, I wait ~10 seconds before plugging in. Since doing that, I haven’t had a single Rivian‑billed session on my Tesla membership. YMMV.

Is there a way to turn off this behavior? Other than not having a RAN account at all? There is no scenario where I want this to happen. There is also no indication that this is happening, other than double checking the Tesla app after (Rivian billed) charging has started and then canceling the session.

Insult to injury is that they are charging you more than double what Tesla does for using a non-Tesla vehicle. I could in a sense see Tesla doing that, but Rivian doing it to their own customers seems lame. I would think it would be more like the credit union model where they tend to cover your out-of-network ATM fees, in essence saying "hey, we know we don't have as much infrastructure as the bigger guys, so thanks for sticking with us until we do..."

 

[SANZC02]

So to be clear, I have a Tesla membership / account. When I arrived at the SC my Tesla app told me the charging would be $0.34/kWh, which is less than it is during the day at something like $0.4x/kWh, so I thought that was a nice bonus. I pretty much charge exclusively at SCs since they are ubiquitous and we are in the process of building a new home an workshop that will have 80A L2 and 150kW DCFC installations fed from a total of 0.5MWh of LFP and LMO storage, but have nothing substantial yet.

I did everything I normally do in the Tesla app to start charging. I did NOT look at the Tesla app once charging had started, which I'm sure would have shown that the car was not charging, even though I could see on the dash I was already hitting "520mi/hr" charging rate. I couldn't have dreamed that Rivian had actually taken over the charging session...

Showing the wrong price is interesting. Is it possible there is another SC in the area you may have selected?

Only Way I know it stop it is to remove your credit card from your Rivian account. It will fail to authorize the payment and not charge.

 

[McLovin]

@cobo , you might want to edit your original post and reach out to the admin and have them clean up any quotes of your original post: it contains your phone number, which I’m pretty certain you don’t want floating around the internet.

 

[cobo]

It's not the "wrong price". The Tesla membership price I *would* have paid is $0.34/kWh. The Rivian price I did pay is $0.72. Honestly I wasn't even aware that Rivian-billed charging was possible at SCs - I thought you always have to pay Tesla for this.

 

[cobo]

@cobo , you might want to edit your original post and reach out to the admin and have them clean up any quotes of your original post: it contains your phone number, which I’m pretty certain you don’t want floating around the internet.

Thanks. I focused on sanitizing the Rivian email but forgot to do the same to my own...

 

[Aardvark]

I'm reposting an email I just sent to Rivian about a charging session I had yesterday at a Tesla SC where I was using the Tesla app. I have only had my used 2025 R1S for about a month so I am new to chargin the Rivian, or even paying for charging for that matter, but what happened here seems very strange and even a bit shady. Have a read and let me know if any of you have experienced this?

------------
Hi-

Something very wrong happened here. I am a Tesla owner as well (free lifetime charging for a Model X) and have a Tesla account setup for charging my Rivian. I arrived at this charger with my Rivian, went into my Tesla app, selected charging a non-Tesla Vehicle, selected the charger (1D in this case), and then plugged in the vehicle, verified it was charging and then went to a store and came back when it was charged and drove away. My Tesla app even indicated that this was a discounted charging time, $0.3x/kWh at the time I was charging.

Somehow you (Rivian) took over this charging session (how is this even possible?) and instead charged me more than double the kWh price? I don’t understand how this even happened, but I need to get refunded for this as I never authorized you to bill me or control my charging at Tesla Superchargers. I have charged at many SCs before with this Rivian and never had this happen. If I’m not able to prevent this in the future I would like to remove my charging account with you for this vehicle. I don’t use Rivian chargers (except once to just try it) and don’t want you to interfere with my Tesla-based charging like this.

Thanks,
Colby

You don't specifically say it in your post, so for clarification, did you press the "Start Charging" button in the Tesla app after selecting the station, and before plugging in?
If not, then it defaults to Rivian control.

 

[SANZC02]

It's not the "wrong price". The Tesla membership price I *would* have paid is $0.34/kWh. The Rivian price I did pay is $0.72. Honestly I wasn't even aware that Rivian-billed charging was possible at SCs - I thought you always have to pay Tesla for this.

Interesting, I looked up the price at the Grass Valley location, looks like it uses TOU for membership pricing and flat rate for non-Tesla.

I have not seen that in my travels, I wonder if that is something new they are implementing.

 

[mkg3]

Many SCs are TOU-based pricing for Tesla (and members since its Tesla pricing). It has been that for several years. I am surprised that you have not come crossed that. The non-Tesla flat rate is always higher than the peak TOU rate so that's why it probably doesn't change.

Whenever I've used Tesla app to charge my Rivian, I always wait for the app to tell me that it's ready to plug in, then do so. Obvously, I just plug it imy Tesla.

 

[VSG]

The problem here comes from your lack of understanding about how to use your Tesla membership to charge a non-Tesla vehicle. Jumping straight to accusations that Rivian is involved with some "shady" practices including hijacking your session and overcharging you is a little over the top. That's just not the case. Take this as a learning experience so you don't make the same mistake next time. Now you know what it's like to use Tesla chargers on this side of the velvet rope.

Rivian implements the Plug & Charge standard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_15118

ISO 15118 "Plug & Charge" is an international standard that enables automatic, secure authentication and billing when an electric vehicle (EV) is plugged into a compatible charger, eliminating the need for apps or RFID cards. It works by using digital certificates to exchange encrypted data, allowing the car and charger to manage payment and charging automatically.​

https://rivian.com/support/article/what-is-plug-and-charge

What is Plug and Charge?​

Plug and Charge allows for a seamless and convenient charging experience at many of the fast chargers you’ll encounter on the road. Simply plug in your vehicle to start a charging session and the payment method stored in your Rivian app will be billed automatically.​

​

Plug and Charge is supported at these fast-charging sites:​

​

• Rivian Adventure Network
• Electrify America
• IONNA
• Tesla

If you plug your Rivian into one of these charging networks, Plug & Charge on your Rivian will initiate charging automatically. No apps involved. You will be billed by Rivian, but it's the network (in this case Tesla) that's setting the rates and collecting the money. The $0.72/kWh is what TESLA charges ALL non-Tesla, non-member vehicles at that location (Grass Valley), all the time. Rivian does not mark up the rate, and Rivian does not set the rate.

If you want to use your Tesla membership instead of Plug & Charge, then don't plug in right away. Instead, first open the Tesla app and start the charger from the app, then WAIT until the Tesla app tells you to plug in. If you do it this way, then the charge will be initiated by Tesla instead of Plug & Charge, and you will be charged through the Tesla app at your member rate. This is similar to how you have to start a charge at any other charging station that doesn't support Plug & Charge.

Insult to injury is that they are charging you more than double what Tesla does for using a non-Tesla vehicle. I could in a sense see Tesla doing that, but Rivian doing it to their own customers seems lame.

Again, Rivian is not setting the rates - the rates are set by the charger (Tesla in this case). Rivian is not marking up the rates either.

Somehow you (Rivian) took over this charging session (how is this even possible?) and instead charged me more than double the kWh price? I don’t understand how this even happened, but I need to get refunded for this as I never authorized you to bill me or control my charging at Tesla Superchargers.

You actually DID authorize Rivian to bill you. How else do they have your credit card number? Did you read the terms and conditions?

Again, Rivian did not "take over" your session. The session was initiated by Plug & Charge, and proceeded accordingly. If you actually DID initiate the session through the Tesla app, you would see a charge in your Tesla account. You will not be charged by both Rivian and Tesla for the same session, it is one or the other.

There is however one minor point you should be aware of. If you initiate the charge in your Tesla app, and then for some reason the charging session drops (because of a charger fault, for example), then your Rivian will still be plugged in - if your Rivian hasn't reached its charge limit it will use Plug & Charge to automatically try to re-connect and re-start the session. If this is what happened then you will see two charges: A charge in your Tesla account for the aborted session, and a second charge in your Rivian account for the subsequent session.

The Tesla membership price I *would* have paid is $0.34/kWh. The Rivian price I did pay is $0.72. Honestly I wasn't even aware that Rivian-billed charging was possible at SCs - I thought you always have to pay Tesla for this.

Again, it's the lack of awareness that was the problem here, not Rivian trying to cheat you. Again, NOT a "Rivian price". You paid Tesla the price that Tesla charges non-members.

https://rivian.com/support/article/how-can-i-use-my-third-party-charging-membership

How can I use my third-party charging membership?​

To use a charging membership at Tesla or Electrify America stations, initiate your charging session through the respective network's app before plugging in your vehicle.​

​

If you plug in first, your charging session may initiate automatically and the cost will be billed to the payment method stored in your Rivian app.​

 

[TexasBob]

Been there, done that. As others have said, this is almost certainly a case where the app had not fully initialize before you started charging. I always double check after it has started charging to make sure it is running through the Tesla account and I have had to stop charging more than once to prevent being overcharged. It is super irritating and common to ALL non-Tesla charging experiences that offer plug-and-charge.

Goes without saying that Tesla intentionally makes this more complicated than it needs to be. The COULD offer member pricing through Rivian and other third party plug-and-charge, but then Rivian would not get its cut and Tesla would have to reimburse the transaction fees. So it is stupidly complex.

 

[cobo]

You don't specifically say it in your post, so for clarification, did you press the "Start Charging" button in the Tesla app after selecting the station, and before plugging in?
If not, then it defaults to Rivian control.

Yes, I selected the 1D charger and start charging via the Tesla app, at which point IIRC the Tesla app tells you to plug in the vehicle, which I did and then went into the vehicle for a moment to verify that charging had started.

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