By Chris Huerta in EV — Jun 16, 2023

New EV Owner Starter Kit (Tesla and Non-Teslas)

Welcome to the EV club! Get started with your new electric vehicle by considering accessories and downloading essential charging apps like ABRP, PlugShare, ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America. Happy driving!

Photo by Michael Fousert / Unsplash

Last updated: 6/16/2023

Welcome to the club! I'll be updating this post regularly as new things come up but below are some things to get you started on your EV journey.

Accessories

Below are some things to consider as you get settled with your new EV ⚡️

Spigen Tempered Glass Matte Screen Protector (Tesla)
Tesmanian Model Y Floor Mats (Tesla)
Right-angle charging cables (USB C, Lightning)

🔌Charging - Download and register with all the charging apps

Tesla Superchargers

If you bought a Tesla, there's not much setup to do. Supercharging works seamlessly and you're off to the races. BUT, Superchargers won't always be available and you might need to charge at the mall, hotel, or grocery store. That's where you'll want to have the apps below ready so you're not figuring that out on the spot 🙂

A Better Route Planner

ABRP is an EV owner's best friend. It’s the route planner that takes into account your specific EV model’s range.

Say you’re planning a road trip. You can get a sense of where you’ll need to charge and how long and see all the chargers available in the surrounding area.

PlugShare

PlugShare is the Yelp of EV chargers. You can find all the chargers around and see what people have to say about their experiences. It’s a great resource to get a sense of where a charger is and whether or not it’s working.

ChargePoint

ChargePoint chargers are in many parking garages, universities, parks, grocery stores, etc. They're one of the more ubiquitous, but in order to use them, you need an account. You can sign up here.

Once you log into your portal, you'll want to add a payment method. Most ChargePoint chargers are actually free. However, the pricing of them is managed by the people hosting the charger. So you might find yourself having to pay for charging sometimes. It's okay though because most times it's pretty cheap (<$5 for almost 2 hours of charging).

Final step: download the app. When you download the app, you'll be able to add your ChargePoint card to your phone's wallet app. This way next time you have to charge at one of these chargers, you just need to tap your phone to unlock it.

EVgo

EVgo is another EV charging company. I'd suggest you download and register directly within the app (link). The setup is much easier than Chargepoint and the app is much cleaner.

Once you register you'll be able to find EVgo charging locations around you. These generally have faster charging speeds than Chargepoint but costs a little bit more. Most of the ones I've used also have a Tesla charger already, but if they don't, you should carry your J1772 to Tesla adapter. For non-Tesla EVs, many of them have J1772 and CCS chargers. The app will tell you the options and which ones are available and not functioning.

Electrify America

Like EVgo, you can download and register for an account within the app. Once registered, you'll be able to find the closest EA location to you. Electrify America is mostly relied on by non-Tesla drivers so if you're a Tesla owner, chances are you won't be charging here unless you already bought a CCS to Tesla Adapter, in which case, kudos for being prepped!