Tesla now disables Supercharging in salvaged vehicles

Tesla is taking some drastic steps to discourage restoring salvaged vehicles as it confirms that it will permanently disable Supercharging on those vehicles.

Salvaging Tesla vehicles has become surprisingly popular thanks to YouTuber Rich Rebuilds and some businesses were built around it like Jason Hughes’ 057 Technology.

But Tesla has been known to discourage the practice at many levels, like making it hard to get parts or not provide vehicles with software updates.

Now the automaker is going a step further and confirmed that it will disable Supercharging and third-party fast-charging on all vehicles that have been declared “salvaged”.

A tipster sent Electrek a memo that Tesla sent to employees about updating its ‘Unsupported Vehicle Policy’ and it now includes the following line:

“Supercharging and/or ‘fast charging’ through 3rd party chargers of the Salvage-Titled vehicle is permanently disabled.”

That’s despite the fact that Tesla offers “salvage-titled vehicle high voltage safety inspection” to determine if the high-voltage components of a vehicle are safe.

Tesla added in the memo’s notes:

“Tesla reserves the right to deactivate Supercharging capability on any vehicle we believe would be unsafe. If a vehicle is found to have been modified to enable Supercharging and/or fast-charging through third parties, Tesla may take legal action and seek compensation.”

Also, Tesla notes that once a salvaged vehicle is listed as “unsupported” it cannot be changed.

It’s not all bad though. In the memo, Tesla has made official that they will support mobile app use for salvaged vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

I do understand the need to protect Superchargers against accidents for safety reasons, but I think a blanket Supercharger ban and even general third-party DC fast-charging ban is excessive.

If Tesla already has an inspection process, which it offers at a cost to salvaged vehicle owners, why not include an inspection of the systems involved in fast-charging to make sure everything is in order.

I think that’s more reasonable than removing a feature that was paid for in the car. Arguably one of the best features too.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.