Rivian to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging standard
Rivian is the latest automaker to jump on Tesla’s charging standard, the North American Charging Standard (NACS). This comes just weeks after Ford and General Motors announced that their upcoming electric vehicles would have the proper equipment to recharge using Tesla Superchargers.
Current Rivian vehicles will get a NACS adapter. Future Rivian vehicles, including current R1T and R1S models, will ship with the NACS charge port as standard equipment.
Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe said in a released statement that his company is excited to work with Tesla, adding, “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.”
According to the press release, Rivian will continue to build its own charging network called the Rivian Adventure Network. It’s unclear (though likely) at this time if these charging stations will also feature NACS chargers. The Rivian Adventure Network features DC fast chargers and are located along popular routes and highways.
With Rivian, Ford and General Motors in its corner, Tesla is quickly capturing a large segment of American-made electric vehicles. So far, no foreign automaker has signed with Tesla. As TechCrunch reportor Tim De Chant writes here, it’s getting increasingly harder for the rest of the EV charging industry to compete against just Tesla.
