Tesla’s takeover of the electrical car charging world continues. Lucid Motors’ upcoming Gravity SUV will include Tesla’s charging port built-in, the corporate confirmed on Tuesday.
The Gravity begins manufacturing in late 2024, so we might anticipate prospects to start out taking supply of their autos in early 2025. When these hit the highway, they’re set to be a number of the very first non-Tesla EVs to function the Tesla-designed North American Charging Commonplace (NACS) connector.
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Final final yr, Lucid joined virtually the whole auto business in saying that its “future autos” would include native NACS charging beginning in 2025. Now Lucid has particularly indicated that the Gravity shall be NACS-equipped. The corporate hasn’t stated whether or not future variations of its Air sedan will make the change.
Fellow California EV startup Rivian introduced earlier this yr that its subsequent car, the R2 SUV, will come customary with the NACS port as nicely. That is scheduled to reach in 2026. Because it stands, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 would be the first non-Tesla to be NACS-equipped when it hits dealerships later this yr.
The EV market is within the early levels of a profound shift. For years, Teslas used one sort of charging connector (NACS), whereas the remainder of the business used one other (the Mixed Charging System, or CCS). Solely Teslas may use the corporate’s lauded and in depth Supercharger fast-charging community, which was a giant promoting level for Tesla’s prospects.
Beginning in Could 2023, nonetheless, Tesla struck offers for Supercharger entry with one automaker after one other. Ford kicked issues off, and now producers from Toyota to Lucid are on board. Within the first part of the transition, Tesla would replace its Superchargers to permit non-Teslas to cost utilizing an adapter. Afterward, producers would construct their EVs with the NACS port constructed proper in. That is what we’re seeing play out now.
The NACS rollout has been gradual and bumpy, nonetheless. Solely Rivian and Ford prospects have began receiving adapters and the go-ahead to start out Supercharging. Normal Motors missed its timeline for granting its homeowners Supercharger entry, and so they’re nonetheless ready. The holdup could have one thing to do with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s sudden choice to make deep cuts to his firm’s charging workforce in April.
Lucid says that its prospects will get Supercharger entry in 2025. Questions stay about how nicely any of those automobiles will carry out on Tesla’s Supercharger community, particularly these with 800-volt or 900-volt (within the Gravity’s case) electrical methods that may deal with rather more juice than these plugs are used to doling out. We’ll dig into that query extra within the coming months.
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