Tesla starts giving back Supercharger access to salvaged vehicles

Tesla has started to give back Supercharger access to owners of salvaged Tesla vehicles, reversing a move that angered many owners and that was contrary to Tesla’s mission.

When vehicles are totaled in crashes, they are sold as salvaged vehicles.

Some tech and mechanic savvy people buy those vehicles and disassemble them for parts or put them back into shape so they can go back on the road.

It’s a great way to recycle vehicles and ensure more EVs stay on the road despite some inevitable crashes.

Tesla dealt a major blow to those people when it disabled their access to the Supercharger network and any third-party fast-charging.

The automaker claimed that it was a safety concern:

“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.”

Fast-charging is a very important feature for any electric vehicle, and without access to fast-charging networks, EVs are limited to short-distance drives.

We and many others in the Tesla community were really critical of this move, which appeared to go against Tesla’s mission.

At the minimum, if safety was really the concern, many were calling for Tesla to offer a path to inspect salvaged vehicles and enable back their access to fast charging, but it never happened.

Today, Tesla hacker green reported that Tesla started enabling Supercharger access back to some salvaged vehicles:

Many salvaged vehicle owners started confirming the good news:

Salvaged Model 3s were spared from Tesla’s no Supercharging policy for a long time, but they were banned from using the network in October.

Now, they seem to be in the clear again, and Tesla didn’t explain any update to its security concern.

Some owners of salvaged Model S vehicles are also reporting getting access back.

Electrek’s Take

Obviously, this is a welcomed change, but the lack of communication from Tesla is frustrating.

If you are claiming that a safety concern drove the original move to get salvaged cars off the Supercharger network, it’s strange to reverse that a year later without explaining what changed.

I know I sound like a broken record, but it blows my mind that Tesla doesn’t have a PR dept to ask them about things like that.