First Tesla charging connector licensee ready to ship NACS components to other carmakers

After submitting its open-source North American Charging Standard (NACS) for industrywide SAE standardization, Tesla has now issued its first charging connector production licence to Volex.

The move has been long time in the making, it seems, as, together with the licensee announcement, Volex said that it is stocked and ready to deliver Tesla charging components to those automakers and charging infrastructure networks that announced they will adopt NACS.

These already include GM, Ford, Rivian, Volvo, Mercedes, and others, as well as America's largest and fastest charging network alternatives to Tesla's Superchargers. The US government's Inflation Reduction Act incentives that set aside US$7.5 billion for a nationwide EV charging network have something to do with the adoption, too.

On state and federal level it's not only subsidized Tesla Superchargers that have to be built with CCS-compliant Magic Docks, but the opposite is true as well. Charging infrastructure companies that receive public funds are now often required to include a Tesla NACS connector on their piles, too.

The Volex licensing will thus put a much needed production firewall between Tesla and its open-source charging standard, putting rival automakers at ease that they won't have to rely solely on their main competitor for the supply of charging components.

"Volex is a selected global manufacturer of the authentic NACS coupler and is stocked and ready to immediately supply automotive OEMs and charging infrastructure suppliers," adds the company.

For Tesla, on the other hand, this would fulfil the open-sourcing and standardization requirements, as well as widen the NACS market potential while it collects fees and royalties from licensed manufacturers.

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