Skip to main content

Tesla’s charging connector is taking over. Here’s every company that will switch

A Tesla Wall charger connects to a Model X via the NACS connector style.
Tesla

It looks like the days of different charging connectors for different electric cars may be coming to a close. After years of Tesla using its self-designed NACS connector, and pretty much everyone else using the CCS connector, it seems like everyone will ultimately switch to the Tesla NACS port.

Of course, that will take some time, and not every company has announced that they’re switching to the NACS connector just yet. When (and if) they do, however, there will be one unifying charging standard in the U.S., allowing any EV driver to go to any charging station. This should help alleviate much of the confusion around charging standards.

Recommended Videos

So which cars are set to get the NACS connector? Here’s a list of the companies that are switching so far, and when their new models will adopt the standard. Further down, we’ve also included news from the major charging station companies, which are also shifting to offer NACS plugs.

Car companies

Quite a few car companies have promised to adopt the NACS connector on their upcoming EVs. Here’s a list of them so far.

Ford

A red 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E in a field.
Joel Patel / Digital Trends

Ford was the first to announce that it was partnering with Tesla to adopt the NACS connector and switching away from the CCS connector. Ford says that EVs with the NACS connector will start rolling out by 2025, and it’ll offer an adapter for current-generation cars to charge at NACS-equipped charging stations “soon.”

General Motors

General Motors followed Ford’s lead, announcing that its brands would switch away from CCS to the NACS plug by 2025. General Motors also said that it would offer a plug adapter by spring 2024, so that older EVs can take advantage of charging stations with NACS plugs. This switch will include the likes of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and other General Motors brands.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz has said that it will switch to the NACS plug on its electric cars by 2025.

Nissan

Nissan's 2024 Leaf uses the CCS charging standard, but it has announced it will switch to Tesla's NACS charging plug in 2025.
Nissan

Nissan will switch from CCS to NACS “beginning in 2025.” That means it may be a little behind the other companies that have promised an NACS connector “by 2025.” In 2024, Nissan says that it will also provide an adapter for EV owners who have cars with a CCS port. It’s currently unclear if the adapter will be available for free, or an additional accessory.

Volvo

Volvo has said that it will adopt the NACS connector, and will offer it on cars by 2025.

Polestar

Front three quarter view of the Polestar 3.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Polestar is a sister company to Volvo, so like Volvo, Polestar says that it will adopt the NACS connector by 2025.

Rivian

Rivian is a major player in the EV space, and it too has said that it will adopt the NACS connector. Like other companies, Rivian says that it will offer cars with NACS connectors by 2025, but it will offer access to the Tesla Superchager network, via an adapter, by 2024.

Tesla

Having created the NACS connector, all Tesla cars have come with the connector for years, and will continue to do so.

Charging companies

It’s not just car companies that are set to adopt the new charging connector. With an influx of new cars that support NACS, chargers will need to make the switch as well. Here are the charger companies that are set to adopt NACS.

ChargePoint

ChargePoint an NATSO to spend $1 billion on electric car charging
Image used with permission by copyright holder

ChargePoint is a major player in the home and public charging space, and it was one of the first to start offering CCS chargers. Now, the company has said it will offer NACS plugs by the end of 2023 — though don’t expect all ChargePoint to offer NACS connectors any time soon. It will take a while before a large portion of ChargePoint chargers have NACS plugs.

Electrify America

Electrify America is another major player in this space, and it’s the largest EV charging network in the U.S., outside of Tesla. Electrify America has said that it will offer NACS connectors across its 850 stations by 2025 — so expect to be able to use the connector with your new EV at an Electrify America station.

Topics
Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Lucid joins other automakers by adopting Tesla charging plug
A Lucid Motors EV.

Lucid Motors has become the latest automaker to announce that it will adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) – also known as "the Tesla plug" – for its electric vehicles.

The move follows in the footsteps of more than a dozen other automakers that have also adopted Tesla’s charging connector, among them General Motors, Ford, Toyota, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, and Honda.

Read more
Toyota joins ‘the Tesla plug’ club
2018 toyota yaris gazoo news specs performance teaser logo

Toyota has become the latest major automaker to ink a deal with Tesla to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) -- also known as "the Tesla plug" -- on its fully electric vehicles from 2025.

The agreement sees the Japanese car giant following in the footsteps of more than a dozen other automakers that have also adopted Tesla’s charging connector, among them GM, Ford, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, and Honda.

Read more
Tesla recalls 363,000 of its vehicles over safety issue
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

Tesla has issued a voluntary recall for 362,758 of its electric vehicles in the U.S. to fix an issue with its Full Self-Driving (FSD Beta) software. If not addressed, the vehicles are at risk of causing an accident.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall affects Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y vehicles from 2016 through 2023 model years that have Tesla’s driver-assistance FSD software.

Read more