EVgo: No Third Party Adapters Or EV Conversions Allowed

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Last Updated on: 13th March 2025, 07:34 am

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email that we get all the time: “Notice of new terms of service.” Nobody reads the terms of service. With all of the legalese that they can pack into them, some terms of service have a specific gravity that rivals uranium. These things aren’t designed to be accessible or readable in any language, but it doesn’t stop companies from enforcing them against us to the max. Disney even tried to use terms of service to get out of paying for a death at an amusement park!

So, when I got such an email from EVgo, I decided it would be a good idea to look inside and see what surprises the new terms might have in them. I mean, I don’t think that EVgo would try to mess my loved ones over if I died at a charging station, but they wouldn’t be changing terms of service unless there was a reason.

The first thing doesn’t really surprise me at all: EVgo wants to be picky about what kinds of charging adapters you use. For CCS and CHAdeMO vehicles, this probably isn’t an issue, as you won’t need an adapter at an EVgo station in most cases. Going forward, there will probably be a mix of NACS and CCS cables, allowing adapters to be avoided. But there will probably be situations where you’ll need an adapter, and the chances of a problem happening go up with an adapter.

So, reasonably, you are only supposed to use an approved adapter. For one, EVgo wants you to use an adapter that came from the manufacturer or was at least approved by them. The company would also like to see you use one that’s UL approved, for safety. If you don’t use an adapter that’s blessed by the proper authorities and something goes wrong, it’s all on you. Damage to your car, the station, and anything else has to come out of your pocket. Ouch!

What’s more iffy is that EVgo doesn’t like “home-built” vehicles. If you build your own EV, EVgo doesn’t want you plugging it into any of the company’s stations. If you do it anyway, and something goes wrong, you’re at fault for any damage that occurs.

What’s unclear here is what, exactly, constitutes a “home-built” vehicle. It seems obvious that if you build an EV literally at your house, you’re not allowed. But, what if you build it at a garage away from home? Or, what if you buy it from a company that does this professionally? The TOS says, “EVgo only allows you to use standard, industry-manufactured and recognized electric vehicles with EVgo’s network and Charging Stations.”

Given that even a professional shop doing conversions isn’t going to be able to build a “standard” EV (whose standards apply here?), the company appears to be against using any conversion.

Why This Really Bothers Me

For people going from A to B who don’t care too much what they drive, today’s fleet of new and used factory-built EVs is good. Everything from a Nissan LEAF to a Tesla Cybertruck will get that job done in nearly all cases. Even on road trips, nearly all EVs sold in the last five years will get you to most places with minimum fuss. The cars are there and the charging stations are mostly there, even if imperfect.

But, for those of us who don’t like driving an iPad on wheels devoid of history, character, or basic things like buttons, factory EVs just aren’t going to cut it. Believe it or not, it’s possible to have a car powered by batteries and motors without it resembling a Tesla!

Instead of letting the legal department and the bean counters pull stupid moves like this to save a buck and lower insurance rates, charging companies should include EV conversions.

Featured image by Jennifer Sensiba.