J3400, NACS, CCS, NEVI
People mistakenly equate NACS with Tesla.
NACS is a national standard From the Dept. of Highways that Tesla is adhering to.
Tesla does not own and did not create NACS, they were just the first to apply the term.
As of Q225, the public charging playing field is in a state of flux, but for the moment we have a direction. You may not know it, but automakers are working together for everyone’s benefit, to build a better charging network in the US.
In 2014, The EU mandated CCS as their universal standard. Tesla has employed CCS in the European market for about ten years.
April 2025: NEVI Cancelled by DOGE
In the US, NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) was a federal funding program for the buildout of standard universal EV charging. In many ways it was following the EU lead, but it did not survive DOGE and Project 2025.
Tesla does not dictate what other automakers do. It is not “opening” it’s network to other cars. Tesla, and all other charging providers, are adhering to a new national standard that accommodates all cars.
The NACS/J3400 specification was released in December 2023. The Society of Automotive Engineers is working with a consortium of automakers, including Tesla, called the “SAE EV Coupler Task Force“. They are all contributing to the J3400 universal charging specification.
The Tesla coupler shape was agreed upon for NACS, but almost all upstream software controls and protocols are being revised to the J3400 spec to accommodate all brands of current and future EVs. All charging stations will have both CCS and NACS couplers.
Tesla will still make money selling energy, but they will be just another brand. CCS is nothing new to them, since they are already CCS is the EU. It’s already being done here with Magic Docks, which is a test platform. Tesla stations are beginning to go beyond Magic Docks, adding adapter free CCS connectors.
The NEVI Plan: CCS and NACS at Every Station
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan (NEVI), launched in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, is a 10 year program that appropriates $7.5 billion in federal funding for grants to states to expand and standardize the EV charging network. Grant applicants must define a complete charging infrastructure plan for the state, and identify the resources to build it. The first grants have been awarded and construction has begun.
NEVI Progress Reports
- All NEVI charging stations will have NACS and CCS1 connectors to accommodate all cars.
- Charging stations currently in service will be converted to the NEVI spec.
- EVs with J-1772 connectors will require a J3400 adapter, and will remain compatible with the widely available Level 2 network.