Original Post Date: March 21, 2024
Source: Yahoo! Finance
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Back in July 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised to open the Tesla Supercharger network of fast-charging electric vehicle stations to other EVs. Tesla’s proprietary chargers can only be used by Tesla EVs, unless the other vehicle has an adapter for the technology. Previously, only Tesla vehicles could charge at Tesla Superchargers.

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It wasn’t until February 2024, however, that Tesla opened its superchargers to Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning vehicles.

This month, California-based EV manufacturer Rivian announced its vehicles now have access to Tesla superchargers by means of an adapter. Rivian will begin shipping the required NACS DC adapters to customers for free in April. For now, Rivian drivers can purchase a third-party adapter to charge at Superchargers.

Electrek.com reported Tesla and Rivian do not endorse third-party chargers, but members of the Electrek team wrote they have used adapters from Lectron with success in the past. However, it pays for Rivian drivers to wait to receive a free adapter, instead of paying roughly $200 for a third-party product.

The move gives Rivian drivers access to more than 50,000 fast charging stations across the globe, with 15,000+ across the U.S. Superchargers offer a charge of up to 200 miles in roughly 15 minutes.

Rivian drivers can also charge at other stations, such as those made by ChargePoint, Blink Charging, Electrify America, and EV Connect. Of these, only ChargePoint has more locations in the U.S. than Tesla.

Tesla stock jumped 6.5% and Rivian stock rose 3% on Monday, Mar. 18 following the announcement. Tesla stock is still up by 3.17%, while Rivian pared those gains and is now down 3.43% over the past five days since.

Long-term, the additional charging options could entice those in the market for an EV and help drive Rivian sales. The Rivian R1T pick-up truck, with a starting price of $79,000, recently earned a spot on GOBankingRates’ list of EVs that offer a better value than Tesla.