The company has developed a cable conversion kit to allow Tesla drivers and upcoming NACS-equipped EVs to use its stations.
This is the first time a charging network other than the manufacturers can charge a Tesla without an adapter.
Retrofit solutions for the company’s domestic charging stations will be available later this month.
With most automakers having announced they will switch to Tesla’s NACS connector for their electric vehicles starting in 2025, independent charging networks will have to follow suit in order to stay competitive.
This is what ChargePoint will be doing since the company has announced it will be rolling out cable conversion kits to add a Tesla connector to its existing AC and DC public chargers.
In addition to making its stations ready for the upcoming influx of EVs that will adopt the NACS connector in place of the current CCS standard, this will allow Tesla drivers to use the ChargePoint network without an adapter.
According to the company, Tesla vehicles have been involved in 35 million charging sessions on its network to date, and this number is likely to grow substantially in the coming months since ChargePoint will become the first authorized alternative to Tesla’s own charging network.
This also means that non-Tesla EVs equipped with an NACS port won’t have to rely solely on the Tesla Supercharger network while out on the road, which will help spread the load to other operators.
While we don’t know exactly how many individual chargers this decision will affect, ChargePoint says the first conversion kits will be delivered in November and both its US and Canadian stations will be included in the program.
In addition, the company will also provide NACS cables for its range of public and residential AC chargers, meaning that drivers who buy a new EV after the switch to NACS won’t have to buy a Tesla charger for their home.
ChargePoint hasn’t confirmed this, but it seems likely that its public stations will continue to offer CCS connectors for a while since it says it will now be able to offer charging solutions for every EV in North America.
