Dive Brief:
- Rivian announced in an email to customers that it’s collaborating with Tesla to provide access to its Supercharger network in North America.
- The company will transition its electric vehicles to the North American Charging Standard plug starting in 2025. Rivian will offer customers an adapter to charge at more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America beginning in spring 2024.
- Tesla's Supercharger network has 60% more NACS plugs than all the Combined Charging System-equipped networks combined.
Dive Insight:
Rivian joins Ford and GM in adopting Tesla’s NACS port for future electric models. As more automakers switch to the NACS plug, the future of the CCS plug is unclear.
In 2025, Rivian will offer the NACS charge port as standard in the R1T pickup, R1S SUV. These vehicles will come with an adapter so customers can also charge at Rivian’s existing Adventure Network and public charging networks equipped with CCS plugs. The collaboration with Tesla will give Rivian customers access to over 25,000 chargers in North America.
“The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network,” said Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe in a press release.
In the email to customers, Rivian said that the collaboration with Tesla would not affect plans to expand its own Adventure Network to around 3,500 chargers at over 600 locations.
In November 2022, Tesla announced it was opening its EV charging plug design to network operators and other vehicle manufacturers, allowing companies to install the NACS on public chargers and their vehicles. Tesla made the design and specification files available online for third parties to download.
“It’s great to see the industry coming together to adopt the North American Charging Standard. By doing so, we’re collectively ensuring all EV drivers have access to easy to use, reliable charging hardware,” said Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure, in a statement.
As part of the 2021 infrastructure law, $5 billion in funding is available to install public chargers in the U.S. to build a nationwide network to support widespread EV adoption over the next decade. On June 9, Reuters reported that EV charging stations using Tesla standard plugs would be eligible for federal subsidies as long as they provide the CCS plug, even though Ford and GM are switching to the NACS plug.
To help its customers locate NACS chargers, Rivian will add the locations to its Rivian app and in-vehicle navigation system.
