For years, it was assumed by many within the automotive {industry} that considerations in regards to the charging community have been the only motive why Tesla was seeing such runaway success. In any case, Tesla had efficiently satisfied its prospects that its automobiles and charging community got here with nearly no compromises—that they could possibly be used similar to fuel autos. And if different EVs couldn’t provide the identical expertise, they have been basically destined to fail.
That is type of the entire motive why we’ve obtained a change en masse to Tesla’s energy plug, referred to as the North American Charging Customary (NACS). Just a few offers and handshakes a few years in the past, and now nearly each EV model has made the change to the plug, with the objective of getting access to Tesla’s Supercharger community.
Charging might then be seamless, all over the place, powered by a slimmer plug as a substitute of a cumbersome CCS unit, and really work on the primary try. Lastly, I wouldn’t have to listen to anybody say they’d by no means purchase an EV till they may use the “Tesla Plug”. Right here you go, rattling you, each collective automaker informed customers who have been on the fence about shopping for an EV. We even gave it a giant award right here at InsideEVs final 12 months.
And but, because the preliminary crop of NACS-equipped automobiles makes their approach to roads, and we get our arms on them for extra than simply a day drive, I don’t know if the change was as dramatic as everybody insisted it’d be. This month, I’ve pushed three automobiles with native NACS plugs: the Lucid Gravity, the 2026 Nissan Leaf and the up to date Kia EV6. And I’m not satisfied that NACS is the lifesaver we thought it will be.
Actually, it made issues a bit more durable.
My first run-in with native NACS outdoors of Tesla got here by way of the brand new Kia EV6 facelift. It’s not only a new plug, both. Kia went out of its means to verify it’s Tesla Supercharger-ready, transferring the rear-mounted port from the passenger aspect to the driving force’s aspect, like on a Mannequin Y or a Mannequin 3.
I had the EV6 press tester delivered from Detroit to Ohio, the place I reside. And as I normally do, I requested the fleet drivers to not recharge it through the journey so I might do my very own 10% to 80% charging check later.
Photograph by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
But, about 45 minutes earlier than the EV6 was to point out up at my door, I obtained a name.
The motive force of the EV6 obtained nervous. About 30 miles away from my home, he known as asking if I knew of a spot the place he might cost. He was at about 21%, sufficient to make it to my entrance door, however I can perceive why the shortage of vary would trigger trepidation for a fleet driver driving freeway speeds.
After a brief dialog, I ascertained that both Kia or the fleet firm itself had solely given him a NACS to J1772 charging adapter. That will enable him to plug the EV6 into any slower, Stage 2 charger, however he’d want a special adapter to make use of a non-Tesla DC fast-charger—and he didn’t have one.
There was a Tesla supercharging station considerably on his journey, however he had no Tesla app account and would have wanted to pay with a particular company card that wasn’t arrange for Tesla Supercharging.
I informed him to take it gradual and proceed to drive. With luck, he obtained the EV6 to me at 8%; not unhealthy, however I can solely think about how nerve-racking that was.
This may occasionally sound like a slim and really particular use case, the type of factor that gained’t occur to most EV drivers. In actuality, it’s extra of the identical: be ready. Know the place your stations are. Be sure you have the fitting tools, which on this case is numerous adapters. Is that basically any simpler than earlier than? Plus, there’s the truth that not all Tesla Supercharger stations are open to all non-Tesla EVs; you gained’t know this till you fireplace up the app, however many stations stay unique to the house staff.
Whereas in my possession, the EV6 was locked out of all my conventional DC quick charging check spots, forcing me to both go considerably out of my approach to a brand new Ionna charging station or use a Tesla Supercharger. Additionally, the EV6’s famously excessive charging speeds are restricted when utilizing the Supercharger; tack on an additional 10 to fifteen minutes of charging time when you do.
Photograph by: Patrick George
Most drivers do (and will) use Stage 2 charging, both at house or in public, and reconfiguring a automotive’s charging port to cater to what’s type of a distinct segment expertise for many EV house owners appears bizarre. I shudder to image the confusion of a NACS-native automotive that pulls as much as a J1772 Stage 2 charging station from ChargePoint or one thing, solely to appreciate they will’t plug in.
It sounds foolish, however stuff like this provides friction and factors of ache and confusion for drivers. We’re already having points getting individuals to purchase these items within the first place, so this simply looks like it will make it worse.
It seems that on some stage, Nissan agrees with me, too. The newest 2026 Nissan Leaf famously has two ports: a Tesla NACS-port for DC quick charging on one aspect, but in addition a J1772 port for Stage 2 charging on the opposite aspect. It’s bizarre, and clearly a stopgap meant to satiate the brand new NACS-native push that got here as a prerequisite for entry to the Tesla Supercharging community.
However Nissan stored the usual port on function. “If you happen to have a look at Stage 1, Stage 2 charging, the most typical ports are the J1772. So as a substitute of delaying the car to have the ability to have AC and DC commonized into one port, we determined that on this transition interval that it will be greatest for the shopper to only have each,” stated Jeff Tessmer, a senior R&D engineer at Nissan.
And he’s proper. I miss my Mitsubishi i-MiEV, however my instance famously didn’t have any DC quick charging. (Imagine it or not, that was an elective add-on, as soon as.) Earlier than my automotive went to the nice massive graveyard within the sky, it did 75% of my each day driving. I had a routine of recognized charging stations that I’d frequent; Stage 2 was all the time sufficient for my driving wants, for the reason that automotive can be sitting for hours. I’d wager that smartly-placed Stage 2 charging stations can be all anybody ever wants, save for the one-off street journey the place DC quick charging would come into play.
Photograph by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
Now, this isn’t simply me deriding NACS. I feel the plug form itself has a considerably extra ergonomic design in comparison with the cumbersome and unwieldy CCS. Most NACS plugs I’ve used are lifeless easy and straightforward to plug in.
And this additionally, sadly, highlights the benefit Tesla nonetheless has with charging. It’s one plug that does all of it, from Vacation spot to Superchargers. I think the overwhelming majority of Tesla house owners solely actually ever mess with J1772 adapters generally. Why trouble with CCS when you’ve got Superchargers all over the place? For the remainder of us, we’ll nonetheless be caught in App and Adapter Hell a bit longer.
I simply am not satisfied this would be the industry-saving innovation that manufacturers and EV fans actually suppose will probably be. Positive, 1000’s of drivers now have entry to Tesla Supercharging, however I’d wager that almost all actual EV drivers gained’t actually ever use them. Since you type of don’t want it.
Contact the writer: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
