On Tuesday, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)-backed electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ: RIVN) announced that its acquisition is following in the footsteps of legendary automakers Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) joins the charging standard of EV king Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). As Rivian adds momentum to Tesla’s drive to change the industry standard, its drivers will benefit from the largest charging network in the US, as well as the devices rated by drivers as the most efficient chargers. Rivian shares rose 5.5% on the news.
Rivian gains access to Tesla Superchargers
Starting next spring, Rivian drivers will be able to use a special adapter to access 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in the US and Canada. According to the US Department of Energy, Tesla’s supercharger infrastructure accounts for about 60% of the fast-charging network in the US, giving Rivian drivers a great treat. In addition, from 2025 Rivian will equip its electric vehicles with a standardized Tesla charging connection.
Rivian will continue to expand its charging network
The maker of the R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV will continue to expand its own fast-charging network, but will adopt Tesla-standard plugs, meaning Rivian will get a significant revenue stream from Tesla owners.
Finally good news for Rivian
Like any startup, Rivian struggled to get its business on track. The company recently revised the exclusivity agreement with its largest shareholder, Amazon, as its manufacturing capacity exceeded Amazon’s demand for new electric vans. Amazon pledges to 10,000 electric vans a year, while Rivian insists 10,000 units is just the agreed annual minimum. With the production line fully up and running, Rivian needs to release Amazon from the 2019 exclusivity agreement so the company can sell its vans to others. Despite selling far fewer EVs compared to Tesla, Ford, and GM, Rivian is a major player in the EV space. Almost 8,000 EVs were sold in the first quarter, while Ford sold nearly 11,000 EVs and GM sold just over 20,000 vehicles, according to Cox Automotive data. With this number alone, Rivian is ahead of luxury brands like BMW. Tesla remains the EV sales leader with 161,000 EVs sold in the U.S., but unlike Rivian it doesn’t have an electric SUV and pickup truck because the cybertruck isn’t expected to hit the streets until the end of the year.
The story goes on
A string of victories for Tesla
Also on Tuesday, Portal reported that Hyundai Motor Company (OTC: HYMTF) CEO Jaehoon Chang said the South Korean automaker was considering switching to Tesla’s charging standard. Chang said the company is looking at what’s best for its customers. A clear problem, however, is that Tesla’s current network of superchargers doesn’t allow for the faster charging speeds that Hyundai EVs can achieve with other chargers, so Tesla would have to be willing to make some adjustments for Hyundai to take that step. Since Ford jumped on Tesla’s charger wagon in late May, Tesla shares are up 40%. Additionally, this series of deals helps Tesla capitalize on the $7.5 billion in funding the Biden administration has allocated to accelerate the development of EV chargers in the United States. For Tesla to qualify, the company had to open up its charging network and rebrand its charging technology as the North American Charging Standard. With this series of agreements, Tesla appears on the verge of changing the charging standard of the industry.
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This Rivian article brings Tesla one step closer to changing the charging standard, and originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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