Must-Have Accessories for Electric Vehicle Owners

Range anxiety and sparse charging infrastructure continue to be the largest barriers to widespread BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) uptake. Talk to EV drivers, though, and they generally love their vehicles. According to the 2025 J.D. Power U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study, only 12% are likely to swap their EV for a gasoline car. Even more telling, 94% of current owners would consider purchasing an EV again.

Put differently, owning an EV is not as intimidating as many believe. The charging network is expanding, and electric cars become more capable year after year. Still, adding a few accessories can greatly enhance your EV experience. That applies to any vehicle, but we’ll concentrate mainly on EV-specific gear here and leave out common-use gadgets for conventional cars and EVs.

These five accessories target the range anxiety and charging headaches EV drivers face. In short, they’ll make owning an EV much more convenient.

Level 2 Home Charging Station

Possibly the biggest perk of EV ownership is the ability to recharge at home. That not only eliminates frequent trips to public chargers for daily driving, but it’s also far cheaper.

That said, the typical Level 1 home chargers supplied with new EVs are painfully slow. Not a problem if you mostly drive in cities, because with a maximum charge rate of 2.4 kilowatts, a Level 1 charger will add about 28 kWh of energy. That’s over one-third of the battery capacity of a Tesla Model 3 Long Range.

Upgrading to a Level 2 charger, however, can make EV ownership much more convenient. These home units support rates up to 19.2 kilowatts, so you can fully recharge your battery within hours. That’s a massive difference and can radically alter how you use your car. With a Level 2 setup, you’ll approach the spontaneity of gasoline vehicles while still benefiting from lower electricity costs.

Installing a Level 2 unit isn’t trivial, though. Hardwired chargers tie directly into your electrical panel, while plug-in models require a NEMA 14-50 240-volt outlet. Both demand a skilled electrician and typically an electrical permit. SlashGear recommends the Grizzl-E Classic plug-in unit, one of the top home EV chargers available. It currently sells for $349.99 on Amazon and comes with either a NEMA 14-50 or NEMA 6-50 plug.

Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Adapter

To provide substantial driving range, EVs carry very large battery packs. But what if you could use that stored energy to run other devices? And not just phones and tablets, but tools, camping gear, and refrigerators. For example, vehicle-to-load bidirectional charging can power a home during an outage, delivering between 2.3 and 3.6 kilowatts depending on the model.

This functionality exists on some gas vehicles too, but to power anything beyond a smartphone you must run the engine, which is highly inefficient. EVs, however, can be turned off and still supply power. Some EVs can be ordered with a 240-volt three-prong outlet, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning. Most only include an internal 120-volt socket, like the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, but those usually work only when the vehicle is switched on.

Teslas, meanwhile, require an adapter. So for many EV owners, purchasing a V2L adapter is a wise choice. A V2L adapter can function with the vehicle turned off and is conveniently located where you need it.

Depending on the car, you can even fit a 240-volt adapter to run heavier equipment. This 3.6-kilowatt V2L adapter is made for Tesla, but it’s a steep $999.99. Hyundai and Kia owners, however, can find options as low as $99.99, such as the Lectron V2L Adapter on Amazon.

Portable Battery with Solar Panels

Using your EV’s battery while camping can turn a primitive outing into a comfortable, contemporary trip. Still, operating several power-hungry devices will drain your EV’s range — not ideal when chargers are scarce. Thankfully, you can offset that with a large portable power station. These are essentially oversized power banks for phones and tablets, but with far greater capacity.

The plan is to bring a fully charged portable battery on your trip and run your devices from it. These power stations can be very capable, offering outputs over 2,000 Watts. That’s enough to run many electric devices, including a robust outdoor projector or a 55-inch TV, a small induction cooktop, a mini fridge, multiple phones and laptops, etc. You can even use these stations to top up your EV’s battery — similar to using a gas can for an internal combustion vehicle. With solar panels, you can recharge the power station during daylight and avoid running out of power.

Which power stations and solar panels should you pick? Jackery and Anker are the brands we trust. They make quality portable batteries and offer them paired with potent solar panels. The Anker SOLIX F2000 combo costs $3,997 on Amazon and includes a large 2,048Wh power station with 2,400-watt output plus dual 400W solar chargers. The Jackery 2,042Wh unit provides 2,200 watts and is $949 on Amazon, though it doesn’t include solar panels.

Charging Adapters

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of driving an EV, at least in North America, is the variety of charging standards. Tesla vehicles use a proprietary NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector, usable for Level 1 AC, Level 2 AC, and Tesla DC Supercharging. Other EVs employ J1772 for Level 1 and Level 2 AC charging and have two additional DC pins beneath for CCS (Combined Charging System) fast charging. Older Nissan and Mitsubishi EVs, meanwhile, used the CHAdeMO standard.

Automakers recognize the confusion and many have started adopting Tesla’s NACS on new models. Judging by current adoption rates, most EVs in the near future will likely charge via NACS. Charging network operators, like Electrify America, have already begun integrating NACS ports. That’s promising for EV adoption overall, but it can be frustrating for drivers of CCS-equipped vehicles.

Fortunately, the solution is straightforward with the correct adapter. Tesla already offers a J1772 to NACS adapter, and some manufacturers supply NACS-to-CCS adapters. It’s a smart buy for any owner. If your EV has a CCS inlet, you can use the Huacaitu NACS-to-CCS adapter for just $99.99 on Amazon and access Tesla’s Supercharger network. Want to use the slower Tesla Destination Chargers at hotels and restaurants? You’ll need something like the Lectron Tesla-to-J1772 adapter, priced at $118.99 on Amazon.

Car Covers and Sunshades

Running the AC in an EV reduces range, though temperature plays a big role in how much. Recurrent Auto found that using AC at 90 °F (32 °C) cuts range by about 5%. But at 100 °F (38 °C), the range loss can reach 18%. Extreme heat is increasingly common — Arizona and Nevada frequently see temps above 110 °F (43 °C).

Even in milder climates, parking an EV in the sun can push the cabin to 116 °F (47 °C) when the outside temperature is 95 °F (35 °C). Even worse, the dash can heat up to a blistering 157 °F (69 °C). That forces the AC to work much harder to cool the interior.

Therefore, we strongly suggest protecting your EV with an outdoor car cover. These shields block sunlight from the interior while also guarding the paint against damaging UV rays. Ensure the cover fits your EV—model-specific covers are ideal, though universal-fit options will do, such as the $36.99 12-layer Autsop cover for SUVs.

If you’d rather skip a full cover, sunshades are the next best thing. Look for easy-to-fit options that offer solid protection, like the $9.99 EcoNour foldable sunshade. For the most coverage, you’ll also want to shade a panoramic roof with something like the $49.99 Zanch roof sunshade for the Model Y.