By Michael Elkins
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced in a blog post Friday that the company has decided to open the design of its electric vehicle charging connector to other automakers in an effort to encourage network operators and automakers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard in North America.
The company’s blog post noted that the design and specification files are available for download, that they are “actively working with relevant standards bodies to codify Tesla’s charging connector as a public standard.”
Tesla claims that its charging connector and charge port — which it now calls the North American Charging Standard (NACS) — is the most common charging standard in North America. The post does not name any automakers or charging infrastructure companies as converts.
At least one company — EV startup Aptera — supports the move. Earlier this year, Aptera called for U.S. government to adopt Tesla’s Supercharger technology as the standard for all EV charging in the country. And EVgo Inc (NASDAQ:EVGO) has added Tesla connectors to some of its charging stations in the United States.
The company said in the blog post that network operators “already have plans in motion” to incorporate NACS at their chargers. If network providers like ChargePoint Holdings Inc (NYSE:CHPT), EVConnect or Electrify America add NACS, it would allow Tesla owners to charge at these stations without a need for an adapter.
Shares of TSLA are up 1.93% near end of day trading on Friday.