The Newest EVs Embody Tesla Supercharger Ports, and That Means Dongles Galore

Very like when Apple eliminated the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, the latest EVs’ swap to Tesla’s charging ports has plunged the world into dongle hell.

With 2026 fashions of recent and returning electrical autos formally out on the streets, a brand new technology of EVs is lastly right here. These EVs such because the Lucid Gravity, Rivian R1S and R1T and Hyundai Ioniq 5 are all natively constructed with Tesla’s charging connector that enables a seamless connection to its Supercharger community.

However we will’t escape adapters.

The transition to Tesla’s NACS, or North American Charging Commonplace, now implies that each plug at public charging stations like these from ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVgo and others outdoors the Supercharger community now require an adapter. Even dwelling chargers will want an additional piece of plastic to work on new EVs. Like with the “courage” Apple summoned with its transition to Bluetooth connection from wired headphones, the subsequent few years would require endurance—as a result of it’s getting messy.

Till now, solely Tesla EVs (the Mannequin S, 3, X and Y and Cybertruck) wanted an adapter to work at each charging station outdoors the Supercharger community, however now a rising portion of the 4 million EVs in America (as of 2024) are barreling into dongle overload.

A Hyundai spokesperson confirmed, “the autos include two adapters,” as will Lucid’s new Gravity SUV for AC and DC charging. Rivian’s 2026 fashions will embody a J1772 adapter for Degree 2 charging for its Twin, Tri and Quad autos and its Quad Launch Editions could have a CCS Combo 1 DC quick adapter. In a phrase: messy.

Normal Motors, Cadillac’s dad or mum firm, put out a summer season blog post saying precisely that concerning the upcoming adapter state of affairs, “That creates somewhat complication: there can be automobiles on the street with each requirements, in addition to chargers of each varieties in private and non-private settings.” The 2026 Cadillac Optiq would be the first GM EV to transition to NACS.

Whereas Tesla’s Supercharger community is prospering and rising (7,753 stations housing 73,817 particular person connectors, up 16% from final 12 months), dwelling chargers and older community plugs gained’t be suitable with the latest EVs. An Electrify America spokesperson wrote in an e-mail, “Electrify America stays dedicated to supporting the way forward for the [NACS] connector.” She went on to clarify that the corporate is testing NACS charging at stations in Florida and Connecticut “to achieve insights into the shopper expertise and information on the {hardware}.”

ChargePoint has taken extra aggressive steps to flee dongle hell. Rob Newton, the community’s senior director of selling, acknowledged in a name that previously the “expertise has been actually clunky” when completely different charging techniques are concerned. ChargePoint has by no means offered adapters.

As a substitute of counting on carmakers or particular person EV homeowners to maintain up with the newest dongles, ChargePoint is altering the supply. Enter the Omni Port. Launched this summer season, the latest ChargePoint stations could have the adapter constructed into the station itself and drivers can choose what kind of EV they’re charging. “You need to have the ability to pull as much as a station and trust it really works,” Newton stated.

New stations will come customary with an Omni Port, however older stations have to retrofit outdated connectors with a conversion equipment from the corporate. Newton referred to as it “future-proofing,” but it surely’s extra about guaranteeing new EV homeowners can proceed to make use of (and pay for kilowatt-hours from) non-Tesla charging stations.

Practically each automaker with an electrified mannequin introduced prior to now few years that it was making the inevitable shift to the Tesla charging system. And now it’s occurring — dongles and all.