Rivian owners can now plug in to charge at Telsa Superchargers, in a move that must seem a bit like calling the Apple store from your Samsung phone.
The company says Tesla’s network has been “fully integrated into Rivian’s mobile app and in-vehicle trip planner.” Owners can plug and charge, skipping the step of signing up for a new network just to use a charger.
Rivian owners will need an adapter to use a Supercharger. The company says it will begin shipping them to owners this spring for free. Those eager to start now will find adapters for sale in many locations online.
In 2025, Rivian vehicles will leave the factory with hardware supporting Tesla’s NACS charging port built in.
Industry Finally Converging On One Plug
EV adoption has been hampered by the fact that not every EV can charge from every charger. EV builders currently use several different ports and cords for charging.
Tesla has its own, which it calls the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Most other automakers use a second called the Combined Charging System (CCS). The two are not interchangeable.
That can leave EV owners, low on range, looking for not just any charger, but the one kind of charger that works for their car.
Last year, the industry finally converged on a single port and cord, as nearly every EV builder agreed to switch to the Tesla standard. That will take time, as millions of EVs on the road currently have the CCS port. Most automakers plan to ship their owners adapters to cope with that problem and to build Tesla hardware directly into their cars starting next year.
SAE, formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers, will govern the standard to ensure fairness.
Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, made a $350 million equity investment in Rivian in September 2019.
