Tesla Charging Stations Eligible for Federal Subsidies, but Must Include CCS Connection: White House

The White House said on Friday that electric vehicle charging stations that use standard Tesla plugs will be eligible for billions of dollars in federal subsidies, as long as they include the national standard CCS charging connection, reports Reuters, quoted by News.ro.

The statement follows announcements by US automakers Ford and GM that they are adopting Tesla’s charging model, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), shaking up a charging industry that was apparently moving toward rival CCS with the help of federal subsidies.

It’s the first time the Biden administration has directly linked Tesla to its efforts to spend up to $7.5 billion to build new high-speed chargers on about 7,500 miles of the nation’s busiest highways.

Tesla’s grid is more widespread and considered more reliable than the alternative combined charging system (CCS), which the government has tried to support with federal funds.

Tesla shares rose 7% on Friday following the announcement, and analysts said the Ford and GM announcements were a big win that could make the Tesla Supercharger an industry standard in the United States.

Shares of GM and Ford rose about 2 percent each.

“Earlier this year, we developed minimum standards to ensure that publicly funded electric vehicle charging is accessible, reliable and affordable for all drivers and called for interoperability to promote competition.

These standards provide flexibility to add both CCS and NACS as long as drivers can count on a minimum of CCS,” White House spokeswoman Robyn Patterson said in a statement to Reuters.

Patterson said the goal is for every car to be able to use every publicly funded charger.

Already the most valuable car manufacturer in the world, the market value of the company led by Elon Musk increased by more than 200 billion dollars since it announced the collaboration with Ford regarding the charging of electric vehicles on May 25.

Musk said in a tweet on Friday that it would be “ideal” for Tesla chargers to only need CCS adapters to meet federal charging standards.

Ford and GM’s decision made waves in the electric vehicle industry, raising questions about the fate of charging startups.

Shares of charging companies such as ChargePoint Holdings, EVgo and Blink Charging fell 10%-13% on Friday.

source: News.ro