Charging Standards: J1772/NACS/Tesla???
Before mid-2023, North America was "blessed" with two different low speed AC charging standards and three high speed DC fast charging standards. In mid-2023, almost all North American EV manufacturers came together and endorsed the Tesla designed North American Charging Standard (NACS) which is simply the Tesla plug that has been used on Teslas for both low speed AC and high speed DC charging since 2012.
As part of this agreement, non Tesla EV manufacturers will make available an adapter for their J1772/CCS vehicles in early 2024 that will enable their EVs to use most of Tesla's Supercharger network. Non-Tesla EVs manufactured in 2025 and beyond are expected to natively support the NACS/Tesla plug.
This was important as it became increasingly obvious that only the Tesla Supercharger network was ubiquitous and reliable enough to enable hassle free long distance driving.
As of March 1st, 2024, Ford Evs can charge at most Tesla Supercharger locations with the use of an adaper supplied for free by Ford, or purchased from a third party ( A2Z or Lectron).
By "Spring 2024", Rivian, General Motors, Volvo and Polestar will also be granted access to the Tesla Supercharger network, then other automakers will follow.
All non Tesla EVs can additionally charge at the very few "Magic Dock" enabled Tesla Superchargers, or at third party CCS networks.
This is what a Tesla plug looks like, This plug is used for both AC and DC fast charging:
J1772 and CCS
J1772 is the name of the charging standard that most non-Tesla EVs are currently using (until sometime in 2025). CCS is the extension to J1772 that adds DC fast charging. This is what the CCS plug looks like. The top round part is the J1772 portion:
There is also another DC fast charging standard called CHAdeMO, but it is almost obsolete in North America and is on its way out.
Adapters
Every Tesla comes with a J1772 adapter so that it can charge at public J1772 charging stations:
Tesla owners can also buy a CCS adapter so that they can charge at public DC fast chargers:
EV owners of J1772 compatible vehicles can buy a Tesla to J1772 adapter that allows them to charge from Tesla Wall Connectors, the Tesla Mobile Connector, and Tesla destination chargers. IMPORTANT: This won't let you charge from non-Magic Dock Tesla Superchargers. An adapter that will allow that is expected from the various EV manufacturers in early 2024.
