Tesla pulls ahead in the EV industry’s “charge-off” as rivals pick its plug

Juiced up… Tesla superchargers make up 6 in 10 fast chargers in the US and Canada, and the EV icon says it operates the largest fast-charging network globally with 45K plugs. Now Tesla’s charger is quickly becoming the standard:

• The latest: Last week, charging-station companies including ChargePoint said they’ll start offering Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in addition to the gov’t-backed Combined Charging System (CCS) they already have on tap.

• OG support: The move is likely a reaction to Ford and GM recently saying their next gen of EVs will use Tesla’s NACS. Dodge parent Stellantis said last week that it might join Team NACS too.

• Vote of confidence: It’s a huge boost for Tesla’s charger because Ford, GM, and Tesla combined make up over 70% of the US EV market.

May the best plug win… Tesla has said its NACS chargers are “half the size and twice as powerful” as the CCS ones, but the US gov’t funds only CCS, which was developed by several automakers. To qualify for a bite of the $7.5B in charging subsidies the Biden admin is offering, Tesla agreed in February to add CCS to as many as 7.5K of its chargers.

• Peer pressure: Given the pro-NACS news, the White House could reconsider its CCS-centric ways. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently said one system would win out.

• Free of charge: While Tesla made its NACS design available for competitors to use freely last year, its charging-station revenue should rise when more cars (including non-Teslas) can plug in.