Rivian Brings Tesla Another Step Closer To Changing The Charging Standard

On Tuesday, Amazon.com Inc AMZN-backed EV maker Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN revealed it is following the footsteps of legendary automakers Ford Motor F and General Motors GM in adopting the charging standard of the EV king, Tesla Inc TSLA. As Rivian adds momentum to Tesla’s quest to change the industry standard, its drivers will get to benefit from the biggest charging network in the U.S. as well as from what drivers evaluated as the most efficient chargers. Rivian’s shares rose 5.5% upon the news. 

Rivian Gets Access To Tesla Superchargers

From next spring, Rivian drivers will gain access to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in the United States and Canada, with the help of a special adapter. According to the US Department of Energy, Tesla’s supercharging infrastructure makes about 60% of the fast-charging network in the U.S. so Rivian drivers are in for a great treat. Moreover, as of 2025, Rivian will be adding Tesla standardized charging port on its EVs. 

Rivian Will Continue Building Its Charging Network

The maker of the R1T electric pickup truck and the electric R1S SUV, will continue expanding its own fast-charging network, but it will adopt Tesla-standardized plugs which means Rivian’s in for a significant revenue source from Tesla owners. 

Finally Good News For Rivian

Like any startup, Rivian has been having a hard time getting its business on track. It has recently been revisiting the exclusivity agreement with its largest shareholder, Amazon, as its production capabilities outpaced Amazon’s demand for new electric vans. Amazon is commited to 10,000 EV delivery vans per year, while Rivian insists that 10,000 units only meet the agred-upon annual minimum. Considering that the production line is all set up and running, Rivian needs Amazon to release it from the exclusivity agreement that was made in 2019 so it can sell its vans to others. Although it sells far less EVs compared to Tesla, Ford and GM, Rivian is one of the major players on the EV field. During the first quarter, it sold almost 8,000 EVs while according to Cox Automotive, Ford’s sold almost 11,000 EVs and GM slightly exceeded 20,000 vehicles. This figure alone puts Rivian ahead of luxury brands such as BMW. Tesla remains king in EV sales with 161,000 sold EVs in the U.S. but unlike Rivian, it does not have an electric SUV and pickup truck with the Cybertruck only expected to reach the road by the end of the year. 

A Series Of Wins For Tesla

Also on Tuesday, Reuters reported that CEO of Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF, Jaehoon Chang, stated that the South Korean automaker is considering shifting to Tesla’s charging standard. Chang stated that the company is evaluating what is best for its customers but one clear issue is that Tesla’s current network of superchargers don’t allow the faster charging that Hyundai’s EVs can gain with other chargers so Tesla would need to be willing to make some adjustments for Hyundai to make this step. Since Ford jumped on Tesla’s charging wagon in late May, Tesla’s shares went up 40%.  Moreover, these series of deals are helping Tesla benefit from $7.5 billion in funding that the Biden administration provided to speed up the development of EV chargers in the U.S. For Tesla to qualify, it needed to open its charging network and it rebranded its charging technology as the North American Charging Standard. With this series of agreements, Tesla seems to be quite close to changing the industry charging standard. 

DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investing advice.