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Tesla Opens Its EV Connector Design to the World
From Tesla: "We invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connector & charge port on their equipment & vehicles." This is directly from the @TeslaCharging Twitter handle.
What does all this mean? It means Tesla is trying to get its connector to be used as a standard and I think this is a good thing. I bought a CCS charging adapter to use for my Tesla to give me more charging options, but it is BIG and clunky. The Tesla charging connector is smaller and a lot easier to handle.
A Tesla charger is used at every Tesla super charging station and offers AC charging and up to 1 MWD DC charging in a slim package. It is a light weight charger and whenever I use my CCS adapter to charge, I know I am going to have to bend my legs and flex my core because the CCS adapter and cable from the charger are HEAVY.
Tesla is opening their EV connector design to the world. They are inviting network operators and all EV manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connectors and charge port, which is now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), on their equipment and vehicles. NACS is the most common charging standard in North America. It outnumbers CCS chargers two-to-one.
Network operators already ahve plans in motion to incorporate NACS at their chargers, so Tesla owners can look forward to charging at other networks without adapter. I think this is a move in the right direction. I really don't like having to get out a different adapter for different charging stations. There should be one standard.
Future of Charging
There are plans in motion to incorporate the NACS at other chargers. The NACS protocol is straightforward to adopt. The design and specification files can be downloaded from Tesla's website here. They are actively working with relevant standards bodies to codify Tesla's charging connector as a public standard.
I, for one, am hoping that this charging standard becomes the way to do things across the U.S. and across the globe. I briefly read through the documents describing Tesla's charging standard. It would take someone with some knowledge of electrical engineering to understand it, which I imagine anyone setting up charging stations would have.
Right now, I have to go to a Harmon's connector a block away to charge and it is free for me to do so. This is nice. But it's a lot of work to use the CCS adapter... Having a unified standard will help me when I'm older and can't life a giant heavy cable for a CCS adapter. It's also going to be important for robotaxis in the future to have an easy way to connect and charge.
It will be interesting to see if other EV makers decide to adopt this standard. I think they would be silly not too. With all the Tesla vehicles on the road, why not have the option for a Tesla to easily charge at your station?
What do you think of Tesla opening up its charging standard? Will this be beneficial for everyone?
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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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