(NewsNation) — Rivian announced Tuesday it will adopt Tesla’s so-called North American Charging Standard (NACS), giving customers access to the biggest U.S. charging network and adding momentum to Tesla’s bid to set the industry standard.
Customers of Rivian, which has its own small network of fast chargers, will be able to access 12,000 Tesla Superchargers with adapters in the United States and Canada as early as spring 2024, the company said. Rivian also said it would make a Tesla-style charging port standard on its vehicles, starting in 2025.
Tesla has struck comparable deals in recent weeks with General Motors and Ford. While other automakers get access to Tesla’s charging network, Tesla stands to profit from selling power to a bigger group of electric vehicle drivers.
Tesla’s Superchargers account for about 60% of the total fast chargers available in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Energy.
Tesla’s charging standard had been proprietary until November, when it made the design and specifications public and rebranded the technology as the NACS.
“It’s great to see the industry coming together to adopt the North American Charging Standard,” Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, said in a statement.
Rivian, which makes the R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV, will continue to expand its own charging network, the company said. The company had previously said it plans to build more than 3,500 charging stations.
Reuters contributed to this story.