Rivian just announced that it is going to use the Tesla charging standard. This follows GM and Ford, and more will come.
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Rivian Adopts NACS Charging Standard
Rivian has just said today that it will adopt the Tesla charging standard, also known as the NACS charging standard. Rivian signed an agreement with Tesla today to make this happen. Access for Rivian trucks to start using Tesla Superchargers will happen around Spring 2024.
This is another in a long string of EV companies that will adopt this charging standard, and this is a no-brainer to do. Right now, Rivian is using the very heavy and clunky CCS charging standard. One has to ask why anyone would use CCS charging when the NACS charging standard is available.
CCS charging is very large and bulky and often comes with very heavy cables and is difficult to plug in.
The Tesla charging standard (NACS - North American Charging Standard) is much smaller and plugs in much easier. It also comes with a lighter cable to use. It makes absolutely no sense why anyone would use anything different unless there was some incentive to do so.
In fact, that is the only reason I think CCS exists. I even bought a CCS adapter for my Tesla Model 3 so that I could take advantage of the free fast charging available at my local Harmon's. But, that is the only reason I have that adapter.
Rivian will provide an adapter that will enable Rivian's R1T and R1S to charge on the Supercharger network. I think Rivian should just build their trucks with the standard built right in without an adapter. The reason I think this is that it's simpler and will cost less, and doesn't involve making and including adapters with Rivian trucks.
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More Companies Will Follow
As mentioned, Rivian is the next in a long list of companies to adopt this charging standard, and I expect to hear more and more companies announce that they are going to use the NACS charging standard.
This is good for Tesla and good for any company that adopts this standard. The answer to that has already been stated, but I'll share it one more time. The NACS charging solution is much smaller and simpler than anything else out there.
Not only that, other EV companies must adopt this standard in order to survive. The reason is that the Tesla Supercharger network is vastly superior and larger than any other charging network in the world. Other EVs are going to have to be able to use this easily.
I think other EV companies are realizing that it is difficult to use CCS charging and have to worry about using a large adapter to charge your car that they finally have "seen the light" in what is the simplest and best solution.
I expect more companies to adopt this standard. Look for Lucid to do it soon, as well as other companies.
What do you think about Rivian adopting the NACS charging standard? Is this good for Rivian and Tesla?
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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he's become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.
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