Rivian Gains Access to Tesla Supercharger Network

The brand will sent NACS DC adapters to R1T and R1S owners next month

written by Kristin Shaw^{Contributor
Kristin Shaw has worked in the automotive industry as a freelance writer since 2012. Her first review was about a Ferrari F430, which is a great place to start for a lifelong enthusiast. She has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the past decade, and some of her favorites include the C2 and C8 Corvette, Lamborghini Aventador S, BMW X5 and Toyota GR86. Her dream car is a restomod 1957 Chevy Bel Air in turquoise. She's competing in her first Rebelle Rally, an all-female off-roading competition, in the fall of 2022 in a lifted Hyundai Santa Cruz. Her work has also been seen in The Drive, AutoWise, GearJunkie, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Wheels, Today, The Washington Post and more.}
3/18/2024
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Rivian owners can now recharge at Tesla Superchargers.
The EV brand will send adapters to owners in April.
Starting in 2025, Rivian vehicles will include charging ports directly compatible with Tesla chargers.

Last week at the R2 (and the surprise R3) launch, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe announced that its new vehicles would be compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network. In the meantime, current Rivian owners will have access to an adapter they’ll receive starting next month to facilitate more charging flexibility.

Overall, this move allows Rivian drivers a gateway to more than 15,000 fast chargers across North America on top of the 16,000 fast chargers from other networks. Rivian is also in the process of building its own exclusive Rivian Adventure Network with 424 chargers at 70 sites across 22 states. The brand is also planning for more than 3,500 Level 2 chargers at roughly 600 sites that add up to 140 miles of range in 20 minutes, part of its overall goal of 10,000-plus Level 2 chargers, all using renewable energy.

Rivian says its navigation system will show a map of charger speeds and availability, including Tesla Superchargers. The “plug and charge” with automatic billing option is an additional perk, making it a more streamlined process than using other networks.

The brand is squarely targeted at outdoors-focused customers, offering a wide selection of camping and overlanding accessories in its catalog. Its expanded charging network will accomodate those customers with sites in out-of-the-way places like national parks and off-roading areas.

"We will be adding sites in mature EV markets where more capacity is needed, in charging deserts where access is extremely limited, and in flagship charging destinations near places like Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks," Rivian says on its Stories page.

Tesla uses the North American Charging Standard (NACS) while many EVs on the road today use Combined Charging System (CCS). Rivian isn't the first to convert; Ford CEO Jim Farley threw the industry a curveball last year with the announcement that made a deal with Tesla to use the Supercharger network, also using an adapter that its EV customers started receiving recently. The Blue Oval will also switch to NACS connectors for vehicles made in 2025 and beyond.

Edmunds says

Rivian is pulling out all the stops lately, and this addition should ramp up adoption even more — and maybe even convert some Tesla loyalists.

by Kristin Shaw

Kristin Shaw has worked in the automotive industry as a freelance writer since 2012. Her first review was about a Ferrari F430, which is a great place to start for a lifelong enthusiast. She has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the past decade, and some of her favorites include the C2 and C8 Corvette, Lamborghini Aventador S, BMW X5 and Toyota GR86. Her dream car is a restomod 1957 Chevy Bel Air in turquoise. She's competing in her first Rebelle Rally, an all-female off-roading competition, in the fall of 2022 in a lifted Hyundai Santa Cruz. Her work has also been seen in The Drive, AutoWise, GearJunkie, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Wheels, Today, The Washington Post and more.