Lucid Jumps on the Tesla EV Charging Standard Bandwagon
As an upstart electric-vehicle brand that launched with a luxury sedan — and will soon reveal an SUV — Lucid is faithfully following in Tesla’s footsteps. And now, there’s another parallel between the two California-based brands, as Lucid is the latest company to announce that it will adopt the North American Charging Standard and gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger stations.
Related: Tesla Opens Supercharger Network to Non-Tesla EVs
Lucid joins fellow EV startups Polestar, Rivian and Fisker with this announcement — as well as most every other automaker in the U.S. except Stellantis and the Volkswagen Group. Beginning in 2025, Lucid owners will be able to charge at Tesla Supercharger stations nationwide, and the brand will also begin to incorporate the NACS charging port into its vehicles during assembly the same year. In order to use the Superchargers, owners of existing cars that are fitted with the Combined Charging System port will need to use an adapter that Lucid will make available.
The Beginning of the End?
The CCS port and the plug that owners connect to the car to charge are significantly larger than Tesla’s NACS equipment. Lucid’s announcement contains the first overt suggestion that the automakers might be hoping the CCS equipment goes the way of the in-car tape deck. Peter Rawlinson, Lucid’s CEO and CTO, said, “We believe that a unified charging standard, backed by the nationwide rollout of future-ready higher-voltage charging stations, will be a critical step in empowering American consumers to adopt electric vehicles.”
Instant Access (in 2025)
Tesla’s Supercharger network accounts for nearly two-thirds of existing DC fast chargers in the U.S. Able to add many miles of range per minute — as opposed to a mile every few minutes with Level 2 charging — DC fast charging is critical to long-distance travel. It’s not just EV brands signing these agreements to grant their owners access to Tesla’s Superchargers in the next couple years: Many rival charging-station operators, including Blink, ChargePoint and Electrify America, have reached similar agreements, as well.
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