Is NACS open source?

[sleepydoc]

I read the reports last year that Tesla opened up and renamed the Tesla connector to NACS (North American Charging Standard.) I haven’t seen anything saying whether it’s truly open source so other companies can use it for free. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[RTPEV]

Some industry standards to require that you join a consortium to get access to the detailed specs (CHAdeMO for example), but Tesla has already released the specs for the NACS connector, so that barrier is not there. As for whether other parties are legally allowed to use it without paying Tesla a royalty or license fee, that's the whole idea behind offering it to a standards body such as the SAE. So in my opinion, other companies can use it for free and they can at least get their hands on the current spec for free, although once it becomes an SAE standard, if modified, SAE may charge a nominal fee to get the spec. For example, they charge $159 to get the official J1772 spec. But once you pay that, there is nothing else you need to pay.

Note that "open source" implies a whole lot of other things (not just whether it's free to use), and no, I don't believe NACS is open source (which would add restrictions as to how it and any derivative works could be used).

 

[EVRider-FL]

Tesla owns the supercharging network and could charge non-Tesla cars a premium to access it. I don’t know if they plan to do that, but others who are following this topic more closely might know.

 

[RTPEV]

Tesla owns the supercharging network and could charge non-Tesla cars a premium to access it. I don’t know if they plan to do that, but others who are following this topic more closely might know.

They are charging a premium for it today (around $0.10/kWh), so that part is a given. But I don't think the OPs question was about Supercharging, but rather simply using the NACS connector/inlet on vehicles and non-Tesla charging equipment.

 

[sleepydoc]

They are charging a premium for it today (around $0.10/kWh), so that part is a given. But I don't think the OPs question was about Supercharging, but rather simply using the NACS connector/inlet on vehicles and non-Tesla charging equipment.

Yes. Essentially I was wondering if there was any actual cost for a manufacturer to use the NACS connector vs CCS or something else.

I hope Tesla keeps its network closed for now simply because many superchargers are already busy and opening them up will only make it worse. I also suspect they would become the preferred destination simply because they're more reliable and you don't have to play the 'is it working or not?' guessing game like you do with EA.

Regardless I think NACS is a superior standard and it would be nice to have everyone on the same standard.

 

[ai4px]

Some industry standards to require that you join a consortium to get access to the detailed specs (CHAdeMO for example), but Tesla has already released the specs for the NACS connector, so that barrier is not there. As for whether other parties are legally allowed to use it without paying Tesla a royalty or license fee, that's the whole idea behind offering it to a standards body such as the SAE. So in my opinion, other companies can use it for free and they can at least get their hands on the current spec for free, although once it becomes an SAE standard, if modified, SAE may charge a nominal fee to get the spec. For example, they charge $159 to get the official J1772 spec. But once you pay that, there is nothing else you need to pay.

Note that "open source" implies a whole lot of other things (not just whether it's free to use), and no, I don't believe NACS is open source (which would add restrictions as to how it and any derivative works could be used).

I found some rudimentary documents that showed the dimensions of the plug, but nothing of software. Do you have a link?

 

[MP3Mike]

They are charging a premium for it today (around $0.10/kWh), so that part is a given.

GM has said that GM owners will not pay a premium for using the Supercharger network. They will pay the same price as Tesla owners. (And that is probably true for all of the OEMs that have signed on to switch to NACS.)

 

[kilpatds]

I found some rudimentary documents that showed the dimensions of the plug, but nothing of software. Do you have a link?

https://tesla-cdn.thron.com/static/...Technical_Specification_TS-0023666_HFTPKZ.pdf is from their release of specs, and contains ... well, basically this is it:
"4.5.1 For DC charging, communication between the EV and EVSEshall be power line communication over the control pilot lineas depicted in DIN 70121
4.5.2 The North American Charging Standard is compatible with“plug and charge” as defined in ISO-15118."

DIN70121 is an earlier version of the CCS spec, and Plug&Charge is an extension of CCS, so I read this as "it speaks CCS."

So I don't read any new requirements on car manufacturers that would prevent them from adopting it as a connector, or on charge operators.