Rivian owners now have access to Tesla Superchargers

Rivian owners will be able to charge their electric trucks and SUVs at Tesla Supercharger stations starting today at 9AM PT / 12 PM ET, the company tells The Verge. The news comes after several Rivian owners noticed a software update allowing Supercharger access over the weekend.

Rivian was one of the first automakers to announce plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its future EVs. For current owners, Rivian will send out a Tesla-made adapter free of charge, much like Ford started doing last month.

The adapter will allow Rivian owners to connect Tesla’s charging plug into their vehicles’ port. The company’s current lineup of vehicles feature Combined Charging System (CCS) inlets for DC fast charging, but starting in 2025, Rivian said it will manufacture its vehicles with the NACS inlet built natively into the vehicle. The upcoming R2, R3, and R3X vehicles will come with factory-installed NACS inlets.

Rivian is sending out one adapter per customer, based on the vehicle’s VIN number. A spokesperson couldn’t confirm whether the adapter would only be free for a limited time, like Ford’s plan to start charging $230 per adapter after July 2024.

Rivian owners can find and navigate to Superchargers through their vehicle’s infotainment system, as well as the automaker’s smartphone app. The system allows for Plug and Charge standard, in which charging begins automatically as soon as the vehicle is connected. Payment can also be handled through Rivian’s app, meaning that customers won’t have to download the Tesla app in order to pay for their charging.

In a statement, Rivian’s chief software officer, Wassym Bensaid, said the update will give Rivian owners access to over 15,000 new DC fast chargers across the US.

“We firmly believe an open charging ecosystem is a key driver for increased EV adoption, so we worked closely with Tesla to offer a seamless digital experience for Rivian owners, including optimized Plug and Charge, integration into Rivian mobile and in-vehicle navigation apps with trip planner and live charger availability,” Bensaid said. “Combined with our fast-growing Rivian Adventure Network and thousands of existing public DC fast chargers, it’s now easier than ever to head out on an all-electric road trip.”

Rivian has said it plans to install thousands of its own DC fast chargers at hundreds of locations over the next few years. The company’s Adventure Network calls for the installation of over 10,000 charging stations, including the slower Level 2 chargers.

For years, Tesla Superchargers were exclusive to Tesla vehicle owners. In fact, that was one of Tesla’s main selling points: consistent, exclusive, and abundant EV charging. But eventually, the company started offering access to non-Tesla EVs, first in Europe and then in the US after the Biden administration said it would be a prerequisite to tap into some of the $7.5 billion for EV charging in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he never intended the Supercharger network to be a “walled garden.”

Tesla’s Supercharger network is widely recognized as superior to many of the third-party EV charging stations, most of which feature CCS plugs and the less utilized CHAdeMO charging standard. The company says it has 55,000 Superchargers worldwide, 15,000 of which are located in the US.

Rivian says that its customers can access most version 3 (V3) Tesla Superchargers using the adapter, while some older V2 Superchargers won’t be available to Rivian owners.