Electric Vehicle (EV) maker Lucid will build Tesla’s EV charging port into its cars in 2025. The company joins a tidal wave of automakers signing on to use Tesla’s charging network.
The company says that Lucid owners will be able to use Tesla’s supercharger charging system with the help of an adapter that same year.
Standardizing Could Help Spread of EVs
The move could help the spread of EVs. Early adoption has been hampered by the fact that different manufacturers use different plugs. That meant that, though every gas-powered car can refill at every gas station, EV owners were left hunting for a public charging station that could accommodate their vehicle.
Many EV owners do most of their charging at home. But on longer trips, they’re forced to use public charging stations.
Tesla’s proprietary port and cord is the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Tesla also operates America’s largest charging network. Until recently, it served only Tesla cars.
Other automakers mostly used an alternative port and cord, the Combined Charging System (CCS).
The Nissan Leaf also uses a third, CHAdeMO.
CCS and CHAdeMO cords hang at public charging stations operated by many networks. That leaves users downloading multiple apps and signing up for payment systems whenever they plug into an unfamiliar charger.
Public charging stations, other than Tesla’s, could also be unreliable. One recent study found that more than a fifth of all attempts to charge in public failed. Tesla’s system performs more reliably.
Earlier this year, Tesla began agreeing to let other automakers use the supercharger network. Now, most have signed on. Among major automakers, only Stellantis (parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and others) and the Volkswagen Group (Audi, Porsche, and VW) have held out.
A persistent industry rumor says both are negotiating with Tesla and will likely join the supercharger network themselves soon.
The move doesn’t make Tesla responsible for EV charging nationwide. The company has opened its standard to competitors. Operators of rival networks are already adding the Tesla plug to their chargers. SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers) announced in June that it would standardize the NACS connector, ensuring “that any supplier or manufacturer will be able to use, manufacture, or deploy the NACS connector on electric vehicles [EVs] and at charging stations across North America.”
