The Tesla Standard
Musk’s company seems to win the connector battle
I hear the chicken and egg discussion a lot. Should I buy an electric vehicle (EV) before all the infrastructure charging stations are built-out? More chargers are coming, but that doesn’t mean all is set for the future, especially when it comes to standards.
The EV industry has just been rocked by a seismic shock. This week, EV maker Rivian announced its vehicle owners will have access to all of Tesla’s superchargers. That move follows a couple of the major players, Ford and General Motors, that also made a deal to use Elon Musk’s chargers. It is a bit surprising because those two of the big three automakers have been saying they are coming after Tesla. Now they are making a deal with their rival.
GM CEO Mary Barra pointed out the deal will speed the transition to EVs and, “could help move the industry toward a single North American charging standard.”
CHARGING LEADER
Tesla already has 12,000 superchargers installed across the country. The deals are good news for owners of non-Tesla vehicles because they quickly get a lot more options for charging while on the road. The bigger victory is for Tesla and has to do with the connector and port on vehicles. Tesla’s 12,000 already-operating charging stations were appealing to the carmakers, they have also heard an earful about broken CCS charging stations. UC Berkeley found about a quarter of CCS stations weren’t working. One global standard recommends an operating rate of 97-98%.
Tesla came up with its own proprietary connector years ago. The Tesla connector is now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS). The legacy carmakers have been using an entirely different connector called the Combined Charging System (CCS). That is the system Europe is using. The US now seems to have arrived at a fork in the road and is turning down Musk Avenue.
CHARGE CHANGING QUICKLY
Some of the charging companies jumped on the road with Tesla NACS connector saying they will build stations with the Musk invention. Blink Charging announced earlier this week it will be, "providing both NACS and CCS connectors in order to meet changing market demands.” Chargepoint is also making the move, saying it will soon be, “offering a NACS connector option for all of these products, with cost-effective field upgrades available for chargers that are already in service. Other carmakers and charging companies are reportedly considering moving to Musk’s connector.
Even the Biden Administration, which has not been all that friendly to Musk and Tesla, says that Musk’s chargers will be eligible for all that government spending to build-up the charging infrastructure. "More drivers having access to more high-quality charging – including Tesla Superchargers – is a step forward,” White House spokeswoman Robyn Patterson said in a statement to Reuters.
CLOSER TO A STANDARD
The White House has been calling on Tesla to open its charging system. The Biden folks probably expected Tesla to offer an adapter for CCS vehicles, not a wholesale shift to the NACS connector. The White House had said in the past that the incentive money it was providing to states and localities for charging stations leaned toward the CCS connector. Not anymore. “Those standards give flexibility for adding both CCS and NACS, as long as drivers can count on a minimum of CCS,” Patterson said.
None of this will happen overnight. It does look like Musk may have won here and, as his rival Mary Barra says maybe that’s OK because it gets us a lot closer to a single standard in the US.
As you know, I'm no fan of Musk. But, it is a positive move for the EV industry in general, which I wholeheartedly support. Our environment wins, regardless who enables the changes. Nice piece!