What to Know When Charging a Non-Tesla at a Supercharger

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• Many of Tesla’s Supercharger DC fast chargers aren’t available for non-Teslas to use.
• You may need to bring an adapter to use a Supercharger, but some charging stations have built-in adapters.
• With a little planning, charging a non-Tesla at a Supercharger is as easy as using any other DC fast charger.

If you plan on charging your non-Tesla electric vehicle at one of Tesla’s plentiful and reliable Supercharger DC fast chargers, there are a few things you need to know to have a smooth experience.

Related: What Kia EV Owners Need to Know Before Using a Tesla Supercharger

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Do I Need a Charging Adapter?

• Takeaway: At many Superchargers, the answer is yes, but for some, no.

If you charge at a North American Charging Station partner station and your EV doesn’t have a Tesla-style NACS port but rather a Combined Charging System one, you’ll need an adapter to use the charging station. These adapters can cost around $250, and automakers sell adapters that are designed to work with their EVs.

If you charge at one of Tesla’s less common Magic Dock Superchargers, however, you don’t need an adapter to charge your CCS-equipped EV. These stations have adapters integrated with the charging cord; you can either release the cord from the station with the adapter attached or, if your EV has a NACS port, you can use the station without the adapter.

Can I Use Any Supercharger?

• Takeaway: No, many Superchargers are reserved exclusively for Teslas.

This is a key point that’s often not explained when automakers say their EVs have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, but it’s an important one to consider depending where you live and how you use your EV. In Cars.com’s home of Chicago, for instance, most of the Superchargers in the city are Tesla-only, so that Supercharger down the street from you may not be available to your non-Tesla EV. You can check Tesla’s online map or the brand’s smartphone app to see which stations are open to your non-Tesla EV.

How Do I Pay?

• Takeaway: Paying for a Supercharging session with the Tesla app is a straightforward experience. Certain automakers’ apps can also be used to pay for Supercharging.

You add your payment method in the Tesla app as you would any other smartphone app, and the app keeps track of your Supercharging history, too. While we used the Tesla app for our Supercharging test, in many cases, your automaker’s mobile app can be used to pay, too.

How Is the Charging Experience?

• Takeaway: We charged in very cold temperatures, adding nearly 200 miles of range in 44 minutes at a cost of $46.23.

Our non-Tesla EV for this Supercharging test was a 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V, a performance-oriented version of the Lyriq SUV that makes 615 horsepower and has a Cadillac-estimated 0-60 mph time of just 3.3 seconds. For this test, however, we were more interested in its charging speed rather than its straight-line speed.

We arrived at the 325-kilowatt Magic Dock Supercharger with the Lyriq-V’s battery at 19% and the car showing 33 miles of range remaining. It was very cold in Chicago on the day of our charging test — roughly 10 degrees Fahrenheit — and we used the Cadillac’s Fast Charge Prep feature to precondition the 102-kilowatt-hour battery for optimal fast charging.

The car started charging at around 155 kW before the charging speed dropped as the charging session went along. In the end, it took 44 minutes to go from 19%-80% state of charge, which added 73.4 kWh of energy and 197 miles of range. This is a bit slower than Cadillac’s DC fast-charging estimate of 10%-80% in 40 minutes, but considering the cold temps, it’s not that far off. The total charging cost was $46.23.

Would We Charge at a Supercharger Again?

• Takeaway: Yes, but we wouldn’t forgo other charging networks entirely. The Supercharger network is a good option for DC fast-charging a non-Tesla EV provided you know where and how you can — and can’t — use it.

Tesla’s extensive network of Superchargers makes long-distance travel easier for Tesla owners by addressing a key concern related to EV ownership: charging away from home. But for a non-Tesla EV driver, the need for adapters in some cases and only partial access to the full network makes it less convenient. But hey, if it prevents you from being stranded with a dead battery far from home, that’s a win.

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