Today marks the announcement of an exciting new development for Rivian owners, as they now have the green light to access Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network with the use of a North American Charging Standard (NACS) to Combined Charging System (CCS) adapter. However, a slight twist emerges from an official announcement on Rivian.com, which states that Rivian vehicle owners are slated to receive their NACS to CCS adapters in April. This detail adds a layer of anticipation, as official utilization of this access is just beyond immediate reach.
Despite the anticipation for official adapters, which might leave some customers waiting for several months, a situation highlighted by Ford’s recent access to the Supercharger network and their comments on Tesla’s production challenges regarding the official adapter. Despite this challenge, the market offers alternative solutions through third party, high-quality NACS to CCS adapters from companies like A2Z and Lectron. Tesla, however, has made it clear that the use of such third-party adapters is “strictly prohibited” according to their policies.
Nevertheless, this policy appears to be unenforceable for the time being, with no concrete mechanism to prevent the use of third-party products that have been proven to work just as well as Tesla’s own adapter. This situation may tempt some Rivian owners to bypass the wait for the official adapter in favor of immediate, albeit unofficial, access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Although this launch presents certain quirks, particularly the choice to grant Supercharger network access before the essential adapters are distributed to facilitate this access, it marks a considerable enhancement in charging infrastructure for Rivian vehicles. By opening Tesla’s network, it significantly broadens the charging options for Rivian owners, incorporating over 15,000 additional DC Fast chargers into their accessible charging solutions.
