The avalanche of wins for Tesla in the electric vehicle (EV) charging wars keeps rolling in. In May, Ford Motor Company announced that it would incorporate Tesla’s charging ports into its future EV models. General Motors soon followed, despite initially saying it was committed to a rival charging port. Stellantis (Chrysler), the remaining Big Three American automaker, said it was evaluating Tesla’s charging standard, as were Toyota and other Japanese carmakers who said they were still exploring a variety of charging options. Even last week’s big announcement about dual-charger stations acknowledges that Tesla’s charging system will eventually become standard.
How could this have happened? After all, for years, the traditional automakers had been rallying around the Combined Charging System (CCS) format. Tesla was essentially alone with its North American Charging Standard (NACS). The goal was for everyone to unite around the same standard and thereby promote the spread of charging stations across the United States and elsewhere.
