Rivian, Tesla reach deal for using EV supercharger network
Rivian's access to Tesla Superchargers will come through adapters initially and using North American Charging Standard ports later
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Rivian Automotive and Tesla inked a deal for access to the Elon Musk-run company’s Supercharger network for electric vehicles (EVs).
Rivian, which is based in Irvine, California, said Tuesday morning that access to Tesla’s network will initially come through adapters for its EVs. Those adapters will roll out "as early as spring 2024," according to the electric vehicle maker.
That will be followed by the implementation of North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports "as standard" in new cars from its current range of EVs commencing in 2025, Rivian said in a press release. The company’s next platform, R2, is currently expected to take place in 2026, and it indicated Tuesday it will have the ports too.
Electric-vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc. is suing a key supplier of seats, warning that a pricing dispute could impact production of an electric van ordered by Amazon.com Inc. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Rivian-Tesla agreement comes about seven months after Tesla said it was "opening our EV connector design to the world," publishing the specs for the design to its website.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIVN | RIVIAN AUTOMOTIVE INC. | 10.06 | +0.01 | +0.10% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 344.57 | +2.54 | +0.74% |
The timeline for Rivian taking up the NACS port design in its EVs resembles those previously announced by Ford and General Motors.
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Earlier in June, General Motors identified 2025 as the year it intended to add the NACS design into its EVs as it unveiled its own Supercharger network agreement with Tesla. That is the same year Ford is targeting for kicking off the incorporation of Tesla’s NACS.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 55.13 | +0.25 | +0.46% |
| F | FORD MOTOR CO. | 10.72 | 0.00 | 0.00% |
Over 12,000 of Tesla’s Superchargers are expected to open up to the automakers.
A charger with Tesla logo at a Supercharger rapid battery charging station for the electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California, August 24, 2016. ((Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Musk said earlier in June at a conference that "opening up the chargers is morally right," as previously reported by FOX Business. He described the move as "something that will help the industry become more electric" and "help power sustainability."
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"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," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said on Tuesday.
R.J. Scaringe, Rivian's 35-year-old CEO, introduces his company's R1T all-electric pickup and all-electric R1S SUV at Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, on Nov. 27, 2018. (Reuters/Mike Blake / Reuters Photos)
Rivian is working to make its Adventure Network hit over 3,500 fast chargers in the U.S. and Canada, according to its website. Those chargers will be installed at over 600 different locations.
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In April, Tesla reported it has seen its global supercharger network expand year over year.
For the first quarter of 2023, the company said the total number of Supercharger stations it had climbed 33% to 4,947. Its count of Supercharger connectors, meanwhile, was 45,169, a 34% increase from the 33,657 it had in the same three-month period the prior year.
Breck Dumas contributed to this report