Rivian Automotive Inc. will incorporate Tesla Inc.’s electric-vehicle charging ports into future automobiles and gain access to its supercharger network, marking another high-profile adopter of technology that is rapidly becoming the industry standard.
(Bloomberg) — Rivian Automotive Inc. will incorporate Tesla Inc.’s electric-vehicle charging ports into future automobiles and gain access to its supercharger network, marking another high-profile adopter of technology that is rapidly becoming the industry standard.
The agreement will give Rivian drivers access to more than 12,000 Tesla superchargers across the US and Canada beginning next year, according to a statement Tuesday. Rivian will also incorporate Tesla’s North American Charging Standard port into its existing EV models from 2025 and a future model called R2.
Shares of Irvine, California-based Rivian climbed 4.5% at 9:36 a.m. in New York. Tesla shares were up 1.9%.
There’s been a domino effect of EV makers and charging infrastructure companies shifting toward Tesla’s technology in North America since Ford Motor Co. struck a deal with Elon Musk’s company last month. That was followed shortly by a similar announcement between General Motors Co. and Tesla, along with moves by companies such as ChargePoint Holdings Inc., Blink Charging Co. and EVgo Inc. to offer compatible chargers.
Read More: Tesla Tech Wins More Backers as Its Plug Becomes US Standard
The flurry of announcements in just a few weeks underscores how quickly the industry is coalescing around a single standard in the domestic market. The availability and reliability of charging infrastructure is seen as a critical factor for broader EV adoption, and a single standard could give consumers greater confidence as they consider a plug-in purchase.
Tesla’s charging network has a reputation for reliability, ranking highest in a recent J.D. Power survey of EV drivers.
Rivian has been building its own network of chargers under the Combined Charging System standard, the other major protocol competing with NACS. It will continue to build out that network, the company said.
(Updates with share trading, additional context beginning in third paragraph)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.