GM Tesla Charging Delayed

At this point, it is safe to say that GM will not meet its goal of having their cars open to Tesla charging by Spring 2024. The last day of spring astronomically was a few days ago. Q2 ends in a couple of days. In a previous post, I had mentioned that InsideEVs reported the following,

GM’s Supercharger Access Plan Is Still On Schedule, Despite Tesla’s Layoffs

“We plan to stick to the timeline that we previously announced, and that’s kind of all I can say,” Sanaz Marbley, director of global strategic technology communications at GM, told InsideEVs

I confirmed that the original timeline said that access would open up in spring of 2024.

“I think spring 2024 is accurate,” she said. 

GM Authority reported having received the following from General Motors recently.

“Thanks so much for reaching out. The Supercharger network is not yet open to GM customers,” GM Director of Strategic Technology Communications Sanaz Marbley told GM Authority. “We are working as quickly as possible to open up access to the Supercharger Network for our customers, and delivering a seamless charging experience is our priority. GM continues to expand charging infrastructure throughout North America, with GM drivers currently having access to more than 195,000 chargers. We believe that access to charging is the best way to serve our customers and grow the EV market.”

I’ve not seen a new timeline announced. That said, I’m declined to be critical of GM. Recent events of Tesla may have had disruptive effects. Musk laid off the entire Super Charger team. I cannot independently verify the results of that action, Brandon Flasche’s report of consequences in the aftermath including those that needed to contact the Super Charger team “getting bounced e-mails with references to reach out to someone else” sound like something that could result in delays for projects.

Ford, which has access to Super Charging, still has demand much larger than supply for the Tesla adapters. Presently, there are a couple of Super Charger adapters on the market that could be used. But I can’t recommend them for a couple of reasons (though I will talk about them in a Future post or two).

Tesla’s charger ToS states that third party adapters are prohibited for use at their chargers. But the odd advantage that the third-party adapters have over the Tesla made ones is that they are available! The two adapters are the A2Z Typhoon and the Lectron Vortex. I have in hand the Vortex and tested the connection on a v3 Super Charger (though no charging session was initiated). It was extremely difficult to remove! It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to get it off. After some quick searching, I found that this is a common challenge, and came across a few reports of users abandoning their adapters because they could not remove them. I did reach out to Lectron about this and they replied with instructions on removing the adapter. They key parts of that to know are to keep the adapter connected to the car, apply pressure pushing the NACS adapter in the direction of the super charger (as though you were pushing it in further), press the NACS release lever on the adapter, then pull the NACS out. I’ve not gone back to test this procedure for fear of it getting stuck again. But I am going to try it with a “dumb” NACS adapter (If it gets stuck, at least I’ll not have to leave the adapter behind). I may also try out a Typhoon and report on hem later.


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Disabling Driver Data Collection (GM Vehicles)

Some recent news articles have made more people aware of data collection for GM vehicles that could, for some, raise insurance rate. The OnStar Safe Driver program collects information about driver habits, such as maximum speeds, instances of hard breaking, hard acceleration, and seatbelt use. This information is collected by GM and available to at least two known data brokers (Lexis Nexis, Verisk) and can end up working it’s way to one’s Insurance company, affecting rates. Two instances of people unhappy with this service include a person in Florida suing both Cadillac and Lexis Nexis after his insurance rates increased and a Chevy Bolt driver whose insurance rates went up.

Did GM Automatically Opt Me Into This Program?

The OnStar Smart Driver Q&A says the following.

Do you auto enroll customers in OnStar Smart Drive?

No, we do not auto enroll customers into OnStar Smart Driver. All customers must opt-in to be enrolled.

https://www.onstar.com/support/faq/smart-driver

How Do I Opt-Out through the App

Depending on your driving style, this could be something that works to your advantage. But in either case, it is good to know how to opt out of it. Many of the GM vehicles have brand-specific variations of an application. For my vehicle, the application is myChevrolet (Android, iOS). Other variants include myGMC (Android, iOS), myBuick (Android, iOS), and myCadillac(Android, iOS).

To turn the feature off, open your GM app and go to the section titled “Trip Overviews and Insights.” (You’ll see “OnStar Smart Driver” listed there). Select it.

One the next screen, click on the geat icon in the upper-right corner to open the settings for this feature.

From there, you’ll sww a switch for turning the feature off. Use this switch to opt out of the program.

What if I don’t have the App Installed?

If you don’t have the application installed but know your GM login, you can unenroll through the website.

From the OnStar SmartDriver Q&A, the steps to perform are as follows.

To unenroll via the vehicle brand website, sign into your account. Click on “Account,” scroll down the page and click on “Data & Privacy.” Scroll down to “OnStar Smart Driver” and select “Manage Settings.” From there, switch off the “OnStar Smart Driver” toggle.

Of you want to know more about the OnStar Driver Safety Program you can read about it here. Though I thought the website was a bit light on information.

I want my collected data removed. What do I do?

You will need to contact Lexis Nexis or Verisk for more information on removal of your data. You can contact them for more information about having your data removed or seeing what data they have on you.


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