Owners of Rivian’s R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV will be able to access Tesla Superchargers starting in March, the EV startup announced via X on Thursday.
Previously, Rivian said its customers would be able to start using Tesla’s enormous charging network by this spring. It’s all part of a plan to adopt Tesla’s charging port design, the North American Charging Standard, or NACS.
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Tesla Superchargers for all
Tesla’s vast Supercharger network is renowned for its convenience and reliability. But it’s always been off-limits to non-Tesla owners. Now that other automakers are adopting Tesla’s plug design, Superchargers will be available to almost all EV owners.
Since Rivian’s current vehicles (along with basically all non-Tesla EVs) come equipped with a CCS port, owners will need to use an adapter to plug into Superchargers. Rivian said on Thursday that Supercharger locations will appear in their vehicles’ navigation systems and in the Rivian mobile app in March, “with adapter shipments to owners starting soon after.”
A Rivian spokesperson declined to share when its first adapters will arrive in customers’ hands. But the company has said they will be free. It also says to only use Rivian-approved adapters.
Starting in 2025, Rivians will come with the NACS port from the factory, so adapters won’t be necessary.
This deal with Tesla will give Rivian owners access to an additional 15,000 charging plugs in North America. Tesla’s charging network is widely regarded as the very best, but it’s historically been off-limits to non-Tesla owners. That’s changing as automakers strike deals to incorporate Tesla’s NACS port in their future vehicles and give them access to Superchargers.
Ford on Thursday became the first non-Tesla brand to gain entry to Tesla’s walled garden. Superchargers opened up to Fords on Thursday as the automaker opened orders for adapters, which it’s giving away for free through July.
Concerns over where to charge and how long it takes have been persistent hurdles to widespread EV adoption. More access to Tesla Superchargers industry-wide should ease some of those fears for new buyers.
It’s also particularly beneficial to a startup like Rivian, which is burning through cash quickly and needs all the sales it can muster. The young company doesn’t expect its vehicle output to grow this year as compared to 2023, which isn’t a great thing for an automaker entering its third full year of production. Supercharger access should make its vehicles more appealing—and perhaps steer buyers away from a Model X or Cybertruck and into an R1S or R1T. The upcoming Rivian R2 should also help boost sales. We’ll have more details on the smaller Rivian when it’s revealed on March 7.
According to Tesla, a few more carmakers will get Superhcharger access this spring: General Motors, Volvo and Polestar. Most other automakers have promised to have Supercharger adapters ready this year or in 2025.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
