Charging at Tesla charges

[BTOR]

Correction: Routed me only to the J1772 approved. The Tesla App will tell you a NACS adapter is required And whether that station supports Rivian, GMC, Porsche, etc. Sorry for the confusion.

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[bfilippo]

Easy. Setup the Tesla app with correct user profile: for us it’s Rivian + adapter. Once this is done, the app shows you sites that you, as a non-Tesla owner, can charge at. Similarly, if you’ve set you Rivian’s nav correctly, it too will only show you sites that are applicable. Navigating to a site will automatically initiate preconditioning, which optimize charging performance, only if your Rivian's software deem it neccessary.

Once at the dispenser:

1. Launch Tesla mobile app
2. Locate and tap on pin of site you are at
3. Read. Pricing and terms are clearly written. Some locations are based on time of use. Some are fixed.
4. Tap on “charge here”
5. Look at dispenser for its identifying code; 1A, 3B, 4C, etc.
6. Let Tesla know which dispenser to activate by tapping the matching code in Tesla mobile app.
7. Wait for and follow instructions to plug-in.

Additional points:

• If you do not have Tesla Supercharger membership, your price is higher by about 20%. If you don't use the Tesla app, plug-and-charge sessions will cost about this much too.
• Plug-and-charge is billed through Rivian, to credit card you have on-file with your Rivian account. At end of plug-and-charge session, expect to receive email receipt from Rivian.
• If initiated through Tesla app, your session summary/receipt is in the Tesla app.
• If you have membership, you must initiate sessions through the Tesla app. There is no other way to let the dispensers know that you are a member and entitled to pay ~20% less. The $13 monthly membership takes about 100-150 kWh to break even. Given our pack sizes, it's clear it would only take one or two sessions to break even.

Tips regarding adapter use:

• Insert plug into adapter, and adapter into port, like you mean it, in one swift motion—to enure all are fully seated and all latches engaged.
• Listen and feel for the latches to engage. These latches are safety devices to prevent premature separation during a live session and high voltage arcing. If not latched and locked, your session will not start.
• Brute force is not necessary. However, hesitation, shyness and second guessing will likely result in failure.

If anyone needs more info:

• There are multiple threads on this topic; forum search. Its been discussed and repeated at length.
• There are also multiple YouTube videos with step-by-step demo (like State of Charge channel). It’s no more complicated than charging at home. The Tesla app is also well written. It's probably less ambiguous than the Rivian app.
• Tesla's own FAQ for non-Tesla customers is another resource: https://www.tesla.com/support/charging/supercharging-other-evs

And, not to you specifically, but somehow there are people who still have wrong idea about Supercharger access:

Not all Supercharger locations are open to non-Teslas. Which ones are, are the sole result of Tesla’s prerogative (and hardware compatibility). Estimated total of available sites is over 15,000.

[edited for sake of clarity and thoroughness]

This is helpful, but I think where folks like myself can't figure this out is because we actually already have or have owned Tesla vehicles and/or solar, so we already have profiles setup in our apps. But, once I remove our MY, I will attempt these steps. Thanks!

 

[Foobar]

This is helpful, but I think where folks like myself can't figure this out is because we actually already have or have owned Tesla vehicles and/or solar, so we already have profiles setup in our apps. But, once I remove our MY, I will attempt these steps. Thanks!

I own a Tesla and a Rivian - you don't need to remove your MY. There's a "Charge my other EV" option under the 3-line (hamburger) menu as I described in my previous post.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I've only used a Tesla charger w/adapter a couple times. The first time I did I didn't realize you have to push the adapter and cord *pretty hard*. Maybe that's the issue here? Good luck, as others have mentioned those pending charges should drop off your card in a few days.

 

[SANZC02]

Some of the verbiage here is confusing. Shouldn’t we simply say it’s just not open to non-Teslas? Saying it’s not NACS doesn’t seem accurate since teslas themselves use nacs and the actual connectors on the stations are in fact NACS, aren’t they?

No NACS compatible is the proper term. V1 and V2 Superchargers do not follow the NACS standard because they use a proprietary protocol.

 

[KrakenLand425]

I'm not sure if this is still pertinent information for this thread, but in January 2025 I took a 1500 mile trip from Seattle to Western BC in my loaded R1S with roof rack, 270 awning, aftermarket rock sliders, and a mess of skis. To be honest, I have NEVER had an issue using a Tesla super charging station, and this trip was the same, except for 1 day of hiccups. Traditionally I used the Tesla app to sign up and have an account, and I used the prescribed method of telling the stall to "charge my non-Tesla" once I have connected. HOWEVER, during this last trip I did have an issue with the app not speaking to the stall/charging station, (can't remember if that was in USA or Canada) and in frustration I disconnected and reconnected twice. Then the sucker just started charging, w/o app initiation. I took my power and went on my way. Since then I've only ever plugged into the Tesla chargers, and NOT had to activate the session via the Tesla app, but it's always initiates on its own, and charges. That activity is then followed by a "session bill" via Rivian (to my account on file). No extra charges, above pennies for watts, that I've seen. So...I guess part of this is to say a) has Tesla and Rivian changed how they process charging, and how the cars communicate with the charging stations; and b) don't panic if the app doesn't work, plug in and out and if you have an account of file with both Rivian and Tesla, the charger will probably work?? .

Has anyone else had similar changes to their process? Any news out there I've missed? Thanks for listening.

 

[DenisRL]

I just finished my first 2k road trip and used both Rivian app at TSC's and the Tesla app at TSC's. I routinely got better pricing through the Tesla app. You need to initiate the Tesla app before plugging in, in order to not have the Rivian app take over. I saw a 7 to 10 cent difference.

What does “limited by charging station” at Tesla charging stations mean?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I'm not sure if this is still pertinent information for this thread, but in January 2025 I took a 1500 mile trip from Seattle to Western BC in my loaded R1S with roof rack, 270 awning, aftermarket rock sliders, and a mess of skis. To be honest, I have NEVER had an issue using a Tesla super charging station, and this trip was the same, except for 1 day of hiccups. Traditionally I used the Tesla app to sign up and have an account, and I used the prescribed method of telling the stall to "charge my non-Tesla" once I have connected. HOWEVER, during this last trip I did have an issue with the app not speaking to the stall/charging station, (can't remember if that was in USA or Canada) and in frustration I disconnected and reconnected twice. Then the sucker just started charging, w/o app initiation. I took my power and went on my way. Since then I've only ever plugged into the Tesla chargers, and NOT had to activate the session via the Tesla app, but it's always initiates on its own, and charges. That activity is then followed by a "session bill" via Rivian (to my account on file). No extra charges, above pennies for watts, that I've seen. So...I guess part of this is to say a) has Tesla and Rivian changed how they process charging, and how the cars communicate with the charging stations; and b) don't panic if the app doesn't work, plug in and out and if you have an account of file with both Rivian and Tesla, the charger will probably work?? .

Has anyone else had similar changes to their process? Any news out there I've missed? Thanks for listening.

Not saying you're crazy and didn't experience what you did... But there's been no announcement from Rivian or Tesla of change in pricing. So, who knows? As far as I know, based on what's been announced and without any speculation, the way it is set up—without membership subscription—non-Teslas will always be billed more than Teslas.

 

[KrakenLand425]

What does “limited by charging station” at Tesla charging stations mean?

They almost always neck you down once you reach 70%, in my experience. And then it becomes a level 2 charger basically. However, it can be dependent upon how busy the station is and its location too. Keep in mind Tesla's system is based on their cars "touring" and stopping more often for shorter bumps, than most people (I mean new EV owners) are trained to do. They want to put the power into the car at optimal conditions, which is low to mid capacity (I'm sure others know the actual percentages). So the station will slow you down to get rid of you...and as EV owners, we should listen when a smarter sentient being is trying to teach us.

 

[SANZC02]

I'm not sure if this is still pertinent information for this thread, but in January 2025 I took a 1500 mile trip from Seattle to Western BC in my loaded R1S with roof rack, 270 awning, aftermarket rock sliders, and a mess of skis. To be honest, I have NEVER had an issue using a Tesla super charging station, and this trip was the same, except for 1 day of hiccups. Traditionally I used the Tesla app to sign up and have an account, and I used the prescribed method of telling the stall to "charge my non-Tesla" once I have connected. HOWEVER, during this last trip I did have an issue with the app not speaking to the stall/charging station, (can't remember if that was in USA or Canada) and in frustration I disconnected and reconnected twice. Then the sucker just started charging, w/o app initiation. I took my power and went on my way. Since then I've only ever plugged into the Tesla chargers, and NOT had to activate the session via the Tesla app, but it's always initiates on its own, and charges. That activity is then followed by a "session bill" via Rivian (to my account on file). No extra charges, above pennies for watts, that I've seen. So...I guess part of this is to say a) has Tesla and Rivian changed how they process charging, and how the cars communicate with the charging stations; and b) don't panic if the app doesn't work, plug in and out and if you have an account of file with both Rivian and Tesla, the charger will probably work?? .

Has anyone else had similar changes to their process? Any news out there I've missed? Thanks for listening.

Since Tesla opened their NACS compatible locations to Rivian it has always been plug and charge.

The difference is if you pay the Tesla membership to get the discounted price you only get that price initiating the charge through the Tesla app. If you are not paying the 12.99 monthly membership there is no reason to start the charge session through the app.

 

[RivAW]

in preparation for a 2000 mile road-trip I tried charging at a Tesla Supercharger here in NH. I plugged my R1T into the charger and my screen read starting. Shortly after I received a message on my screen that charging failed and I received a message “ unplug and try again” so unplugged and tried again. After 4 attempts and identical messages, I unplugged and left with not receiving a single kilowatt. When I got home and while checking my credit credit card in noticed four Rivian $25.00 charges totaling $100.00.
Has anyone experienced a similar experience? Of course I disputed the four $25.00 charges.

Were they “pending” or actually charged. There is a difference.
Also, was it Tesla SC that is “available” for other EVs? That matters too.

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