Third-party Chargers Embrace Tesla's Connector, Giving Tesla Owners More Options

June 24, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

More third-party chargers are added Tesla's NACS connector

EVgo

In a significant industry shift, more third-party charger networks are integrating Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) into their systems. Companies such as Blink, Kempower, and ChargePoint are among those who have recently announced their plans to adopt the Tesla connector.

This move, after Ford, Rivian, and GM signaled that they would use NACS, marks an unprecedented step toward a more streamlined and universal charging infrastructure, offering Tesla owners greater convenience and flexibility on the road.

Expanding EV Charging Capabilities: The Rise of NACS

The NACS, developed by Tesla, is increasingly recognized as a dependable EV charging connector standard in North America. Until recently, Tesla owners needed an adapter to utilize third-party charging networks. The new shift to integrate NACS into third-party chargers will streamline the process, eliminating the need for an adapter and amplifying the reach and effectiveness of EV charging infrastructure.

Among the most prominent companies to embrace the NACS is Blink Charging Co., known worldwide for its electric vehicle charging equipment and services. The company recently disclosed plans for a new 240kW DC Fast Charger equipped with NACS and Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors. This advanced charging solution aims to rapidly charge contemporary EVs while maintaining a small footprint, making it a versatile option for diverse locations and settings.

Kempower Emphasizes Customer Experience

Finland-based Kempower, another significant player in the EV charging solutions market, has also declared its intention to integrate NACS into its product offerings. The company's CEO, Tomi Ristimäki, highlighted their commitment to a seamless charging experience for all EV drivers in North America and worldwide. Kempower's integration of NACS into its charging solutions is a testimony to its agile response to customer and market expectations.

ChargePoint, a technology company with over a decade of experience in advancing the mass adoption of EVs, plans to include the NACS connector option in its charging solutions. Its charging solutions are compatible with multiple connectors, including CCS1, CHAdeMO, and J1772 in North America and Type 2 and CCS2 in Europe. The introduction of the NACS connector underscores ChargePoint's continuous commitment to providing the best possible charging experience to all EV drivers.

The Future of EV Charging

These recent announcements highlight an emerging trend in the EV charging industry, signifying a move towards more universal charging options. The adoption of NACS by third-party charging networks is expected to benefit Tesla owners greatly, allowing them to charge their vehicles at more locations without needing expensive adapters. With companies like Blink, Kempower, and ChargePoint leading the charge, the integration of NACS into third-party networks is poised to reshape the EV charging landscape.

The continuous adoption of Tesla's NACS reflects the broader movement towards standardization in the EV charging industry. As more third-party charging networks embrace NACS, the availability and accessibility of charging solutions for Tesla drivers are set to improve substantially, signaling a bright future for the EV ecosystem.

You Can Now Track Tesla’s Robotaxi Deployment

June 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Thanks to Tesla Yoda on X, we have found out that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet is registered on the Texas Department of Transportation’s public-facing Automated Vehicle Deployment website. This makes the fleet’s movements publicly viewable and trackable, and marks a first for Tesla.

This isn’t just any old FSD test - this is the first officially acknowledged, government-tracked, and sanctioned deployment of a Tesla Model Y operating as a ride-share vehicle. But that’s not all - Texas DOT’s tracker notes that the Tesla does not have a safety driver.

View on the Map

Visitors to the Texas DOT website can filter for “Tesla”, and see, currently, a single active vehicle operating in the Austin Metro area. According to the state’s official data, here’s what we know:

Company: Tesla

Description: Ride-share service

Status in Texas: Testing

Safety Driver: No

The final point is definitely the most significant here. While Tesla has been testing FSD with safety drivers for some time in Austin and LA for employee-only testing, this is the first time that a vehicle has been officially registered and deployed on public roads without a human behind the wheel for safety.

The fact that there is no safety driver officially shifts the liability from the occupant of the driver’s seat to Tesla, for the first time in a public setting. That’s already pretty significant - we previously dove into how Tesla plans to insure its own vehicles, and potentially owner vehicles in the Robotaxi fleets.

The status currently lists Tesla as “Testing,” confirming that the service isn’t available to the public, but this is expected to change in the coming weeks.

This testing phase is likely part of a short but crucial period that lets Tesla capture data on the safety levels of its current iteration of Unsupervised FSD without a driver supervising. Tesla already stated that they’d be avoiding difficult areas, so this testing can also expose additional areas Tesla may want to avoid, such as school zones or blind driveways.

Tesla will need to prove, both internally and externally, that FSD Unsupervised has the necessary performance to safely navigate the streets without any incidents.

Regulatory Milestone

For years, the concept of a Tesla Robotaxi has been a future promise. Now, it's a present-day reality, albeit in a testing capacity.

Having an official government body list a Tesla as an active, driverless vehicle shows that they’ve been able to clear regulatory hurdles, which Tesla has often pointed to as the issue. It demonstrates a level of confidence from both Tesla and Texas regulators in the system's capabilities.

While it's just a single vehicle for today, we’ll likely see this list slowly expand over time. Alongside being able to track Robotaxi incidents at the City of Austin’s website, we’ll be able to closely watch Tesla’s progress with its first Robotaxi deployments.

Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

June 14, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied.

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.