If you own a salvaged Tesla, or are thinking of buying one to repair and get back on the road, you will soon be able to use the Supercharger network, according to internal Tesla documents showing the automaker is working on restoring access for these vehicles.
Tesla blocked refurbished salvaged cars from its world-famous Supercharger network in 2020. It blamed the ban on a safety issue, however many owners questioned this as not all salvaged vehicles are damaged to the same extent and once repaired, can be just as safe to charge as a non-damaged Tesla vehicle.
Tesla also did not state a straightforward process for the vehicles to be inspected so access can be given back to these cars.
They seemed to have changed their mind in 2021, giving access back to some salvaged cars unannounced, but that was only temporary as they lost access soon after.
However, Electrek claims to have seen an internal document that says Tesla is bringing it back permanently and will soon be instituting a new inspection process to allow salvaged Tesla vehicles to use the Supercharger network.
The document, titled “Salvaged-Titled Vehicle Fast Charging Safety Inspection,” contains several steps owners of salvaged Tesla cars must follow to get back on the Supercharger network.
- The Salvage-Titled Vehicle Fast-Charging Safety Inspection cannot be started until the vehicle has passed the Salvage-Titled Vehicle High Voltage Safety Inspection.
- If a component fails inspection, diagnosis is required, and component rectification may be required.
- Diagnosis and component rectification are not included in this inspection procedure and may be performed only at customer expense.
- If the customer declines to authorize repair, stop the inspection procedure, note that the vehicle has failed the inspection and reinstall any removed components. Fast-Charging will not be enabled.
- Once the vehicle has passed inspection and fast charging has been enabled, if the vehicle fails the final charging test, any further diagnosis or repair are treated like any other vehicle. If charging has already been enabled and the customer declines further diagnosis or repair, do not disable fast-charging.
The new process is not model specific and applies to the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y.
Tesla to open government funded Superchargers to all EVs in Australia
