Rivian gets 15-second plug-and-charge session starts at Tesla Superchargers with up to 208 kW rate

Tesla said it will be opening its Supercharger network for other vehicles by the end of this quarter, and started with Ford, listing Rivian as the second EV brand in line to get direct Supercharger access.

When detailing its latest software update, Rivian quipped to "be on the lookout for Tesla Supercharger stations opening up to Rivian vehicles soon," and today it officially announced the opening of Tesla's charging network to its vehicles.

Rivian plug-and-charge Supercharger rate

One Rivian R1S owner went to try the newfangled access to the world's largest and most stable EV charging network, and managed to plug and start charging directly. Instead of searching for stations with Magic Dock installed, Rivian R1T and R1S owners can top up at any Tesla Supercharger on their way via a NACS adapter.

There is now a direct plug-and-charge functionality for Rivian vehicles at Tesla Supercharger, as long as there is a payment method set in the app. The Rivian driver can simply park in front of the charger cable taking exactly one spot, place an adapter on the NACS connector, plug it in the car's CCS port, and start charging. Rivian will be shipping a free NACS adapter in April, but for now folks are using the new A2Z Typhoon plug for non-Tesla vehicles.

From the looks of it, it takes less than 15 seconds for a Rivian plug-and-charge session to initiate on a Tesla Supercharger. That's about as short as on Rivian's own Adventure Network of chargers, which are few and far between still. In addition, the Rivian app is now displaying Tesla's Superchargers with the warning that a NACS adapter will be needed to use them.

Compatible Superchargers will show up in Rivian navigation when you are planning trips, with charger speeds and availability information listed. You’ll also be able to “plug and charge” with automatic billing. Simply plug the charger into the vehicle and charging will begin automatically without having to pull up an app.

Needless to say, the Rivian plug-and-charge rate on Tesla Superchargers would be higher than the subscription one via the app. That's the same with Ford EV drivers, who pay about 30% more for Superchargers than Tesla owners, unless they opt for the $12.99 monthly subscription option. In that case, they'll pay exactly as much as Tesla cars do.

In that particular session, the charging rate of the Rivian R1S managed to hit 188 kW, while an R1T driver demonstrated a 208 kW peak speed a few days back, pretty close to Rivian's rated 215 kW maximum.

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