Washington state officials told Reuters that electric vehicle charging companies must use Tesla’s link to participate in a federally sponsored highway electrification scheme.
Elon Musk hopes to make Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) the national standard when Washington follows Texas in adopting it.
G.M., Ford, and Rivan (RIVN.O) will adopt Tesla’s NACS instead of the Biden administration’s CCS.
“I’m happy about NACS and automakers finally accepting one standard. “We want to offer as many make and models as possible,” said Washington State Department of Transportation alternative fuels program manager Tonia Buell.
“It hasn’t necessarily been tested and certified for other auto manufacturers, so we want to make sure it’s going to work, but we are planning to require NACS at our state- and federally-funded sites in the future.”
On Monday, Kris Rietmann Abrudan, a Washington State Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said NACS had not been mandated. Market changes may affect charger rollout.
Buell said the autumn proposal request process involves “future-proofing” investments.
Buell said state authorities are establishing the correct NACS charger mix based on federal standards. Buell said the state might demand at least two or all four CCS chargers for NACS at taxpayer-funded sites, which must have at least four per federal law.
Washington may force other states and the feds to adopt Tesla’s NACS.
