After the previous announcement of the plan open its Supercharger network, Tesla announced today that it is requiring automakers and charging networks to adopt its charging connector and port design, calling it the North American Charging Standard. According to Tesla, since it “has no moving parts, is half the size and twice as strong as Hybrid Charging System connectors,” it’s the obvious choice for a similar charging standard. as standard we have for USB.
The press release indicates that there are twice as many chargers using Tesla’s connector as CCS chargers and that its Supercharger network is 60% larger than all the CCS chargers combined. If the companies actually agree to do this, electric vehicle drivers of other brands will be able to use Tesla chargers, and Tesla drivers will not need an adapter to use non-Tesla chargers.
On the one hand, trusting Tesla is a big risk for other automakers. Especially when Tesla CEO Elon Musk is busy doing his best to burn Twitter and $44 billion to the ground. But on the other hand, the current charging infrastructure for non-Tesla electric vehicles sucks. Chargers frequently fail, and it’s hard to justify owning one if you don’t have access to it at home.
maybe you make EV work without charging at home? Sure. I did it when I lived in LA for a while after someone damaged the charging cable I used at my apartment. Is it comfortable? Nothing. People like to block public chargers with their gas-powered cars, and even though Electrify America installed some chargers at the grocery store I frequented, they weren’t online when I moved out. .
There may be a point that someone smarter than me can spot, but even if there is, it’s still worth it. The number of electric vehicles sold in the US will continue to grow, so it’s probably better to stick to a charging standard before they become even more common.
