"Tesla owns the gas stations:" Ford and GM trigger domino effect on EV charging standard

Tesla is now poised to take a dominant position in US and even global EV charging after the two biggest legacy car makers in the US announced they would switch to the Tesla standard, triggering a domino effect from charging networks and suppliers.

Two weeks ago in a surprise announcement, Ford said it would start equipping its EVs with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) from 2024.

Last week, GM announced it too would switch from the Combined Charging System (CCS), and since then a number of major EV charging networks have joined in, including EVgo, Blink Charging, ChargePoint and the Australian-based Tritium. Kempower also announced it was making the switch to NACS, as did ABB.

Tesla’s NACS connector is lighter and more compact than CCS connectors, making it easier for motorists to use. The single connector also supports both AC and DC charging. But the switch to NACS is also a major victory for Tesla itself.

In a video posted on YouTube, Sandy Munro and Cory Steuben from auto engineering consulting firm Munro and Associates symbolically threw a CCS1 cable in the bin.

“The best news ever, was when Ford decided that they were going to go and take the Tesla approach and the second best news ever was when GM followed the lead of Ford,” said Munro.

“I’m telling you right now the world is a new place. I don’t care what anybody says, this is going to be huge for electrification.”

The moves from major auto manufacturers and charging networks is a major boon for Tesla.

“Tesla owns the gas stations,” said Steuben.

“Imagine if you were driving an internal combustion engine vehicle and everywhere you went to fill up, you were filling up at a General Motors filling station. That’s the equivalent. Think about the revenue that will be generated from all the future charging sessions.

“And where does that revenue in that profit go? Tesla Motor Company.

“All the other charging infrastructures all the other charging companies are now at a huge disadvantage, and other OEMs if you want to play in the United States, you better think about announcing very quickly that you’re switching to NACS.” said Steuben.

Munro thinks the NACS is by far the best system.

“The elegance associated with the Elon Musk charging system is out of this world,” said Munro.

“This is the direction that the United States needs to take. We need we need to move as a country in a unified way.”

“We need to move with the electrification of this country. Let’s move in a good direction with a sane, beautiful design versus whatever that is.” said Munro pointing to the CCS cable in the bin.

Australia, it should be noted, is unlikely to be impacted by this. Australia mostly operates with the highly regarded CCS2 standard, and Tesla has modified its EVs in Australia rather than introduce NACS, and used CCS2 on its local supercharging network.

Most Australian drivers just wish that public charging networks in Australia can be as reliable and easy to use as the Tesla one.

Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.