GM's EV Live online service is here to answer your electric car questions

It's been awhile since EVs shed their fringe curiosity reputation and become a mainstream transportation technology, but the general public is still not really comfortable with the vagaries of their day-to-day use. EVs are the shiny new toy, and people have questions. GM is here to answer them. The company announced on Monday that it is opening an online showroom/studio called EV Live that will host Q&A sessions with the general public about electrification, the ins and outs of EV ownership and GM's Ultium 360 charging network and electric vehicle offerings.

The free service will allow anyone in the U.S. over age 18 to contact one of GM's online EV liaisons to "answer EV-related questions in real-time and give virtual tours of the EV Live studio." That studio will feature mockups of GM's home and public chargers, the company's battery technology, and GM EVs. The liaisons will be able to speak on a wide range of subjects — from the engineering and chemistry that goes into the batteries, to explaining the home charger installation process and select a certified vendor.

But don't expect the answers to be all-encompassing.     

"If somebody's got a question about a Tesla battery pack, I'm sure they've done a lot of resources at their fingertips," Hoss Hassani, GM vice president of EV Ecosystem, said during a press call on Friday. "We want to talk to people about EV considerations overall, [and] where the opportunity presents to talk specifically about the GM advantage."

"We are not looking for our EV specialists to offer any editorial commentary, or get into a political discussion about federal policy, or state policy, or any of that," he added. The showroom is focused on electric cars, trucks and SUVs, but Hassani hinted that ebikes, electric ATVs and other off-road electric transports could eventually become topics of discussion as well. 

GM expects both prospective EV buyers and recent purchasers to find value in this service. "If you're someone who owns an EV, if you drove off a lot and then realized — like many of us do — 'Oh shoot, I have a whole bunch of questions that I didn't get answered,' this is an awesome place to come to to understand how you can make the most of what you're already driving," a GM representative noted during the call.  

Visitors will be able to schedule a live one-on-one tour with a liaison — on-demand live group tours and prerecorded walkthroughs are coming later this year — and ask questions either through voice or text chat.

The studio will be open Monday-Thursday from 9am to midnight ET, Friday from 9am to 9pm ET, and Saturday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm ET.