Tesla Is Another Step Closer To Dominating The Charging Infrastructure

Volvo Cars is the latest EV maker to embrace Tesla’s North American charging standard in what seems to be an identical agreement as those previously made by General Motors GM, Ford Motor F and Rivian RIVN earlier this month. Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF and Stellantis STLA have said they are considering following their footseps, but the Swedish automaker is the first European EV maker to formally commit to the NACS charging standard for its EVs sold in North America. These deals could give Elon Musk control of the charging infrastructure and the EV game as a whole, considering that this is the critical barrier to global EV adoption.

Focus On The Customer

General Motors CEO Mary Barra described the advantages of the GM’s decision to adopt Tesla’s NACS as its customers will gain access to 13,000 most efficient chargers in the US. This decision will also help GM save $400 million.

With EVs of above four automakers integrating Tesla’s NACS as of 2025, it is official that the efforts by the Biden administration to make the Combined Charging System (CCS) the dominant charging standard in the United States have failed, although Tesla’s technology is yet to be approved as a standard by SAE International. Upon the news on Tuesday afternoon, Tesla shares rose 3%. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a federally funded research center, reported that the U.S will be installing 1.2 million public EV chargers by the end of the decade, without providing a breakdown of NACs and CCSs. The White House has confirmed that EV charging stations that use Tesla-standard plugs will be eligible for federal subsidies that translate to a financial support worth billions of dollars.

The Charging Wars Win Also Comes With Risks For Tesla

By opening its charging network, Tesla became eligible for federal subsidies. But, this decision also brought in a portion of risk as the exclusive access to its fast supercharging network helped the EV king sells its cars to customers who did not want to wait behind Ford and GM vehicles. Musk has promised that GM, Ford, Rivian and Volvo customers will be treated like a Tesla customer and Tesla customers might not like that. Moreover, the reason why Tesla did so well is because it designed the whole system including the EV, the software that runs it and the charging hardware that powers it. Therefore, once other automakers like GM and Ford join its network, Tesla will no longer have absolute control. According to the Energy Department, Tesla has 19,700 charging ports across the United States located at about 1,800 stations but only 12,000 Tesla chargers will be open to Ford, GM, Rivian and now Volvo vehicles. Meanwhile, there are 10,500 CCS ports located at 5,300 stations so cars designed to use these plugs will be condemned with less reliable and slower charging.

An Acknowledgment Of Tesla’s Know-how

These agreements are a recognition of Tesla’s know-how in terms of the charging infrastructure. The charging infrastructure chapter in the EV book, which is an essential milestone towards an all-electric future, will undoubtedly be written by the EV king himself.

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