Tesla adds CCS combo 1 adapter to its U.S. store

Tesla has added the CCS 1 adapter to its U.S. store

Tesla owners can say goodbye to range anxiety. Despite Tesla's vast network of more than 35,000 Supercharger stations, there are still areas that can raise the stress level as the charge goes down.

Those days will soon be a distant memory as more non-Tesla charging stations pop up. However, those stations do not have the sleek Tesla charger but a big, bulky one called CCS.

CCS, which stands for Combine Charging System comes in two types. Type 1 is mainly used in North America and South Korea, while CCS type 2 is the charging standard in Europe. They differ in the number of phases and maximum power they can provide.

Up until now, Tesla did not sell its CCS type 1 adapter in North America, but they did in South Korea. If you wanted one, you needed to import it or purchase the adapter through a third party. These adapters have been selling for a hefty price online, including eBay. Some sellers have the adapter listed for as much as $1000.

However, Tesla has finally added the adapter to its U.S. store. Tesla owners will now be able to tap into a whole other charging network.

Tesla introduced the device in the store at the bargain basement price of $250 USD, a significantly better deal.

But, not all Teslas are CCS compatible. Some models can charge with CCS once the adaptor is attached. However, several models, especially versions before 2020, are not CCS ready. There is a simple way to determine if your Tesla is suitable for CCS by taping the main menu, then Software and then Additional Vehicle Information. A box will pop up with a lot of information; scan for CCS adaptor support. It will show 'Not Installed' or 'CCS Enabled'.

Electronic Control Units (ECU) were available in the Tesla parts catalog for owners to retrofit their cars if they were incompatible. However, after the launch of the adapter in the Tesla store, visitors are asked to sign in before before being able to purchase the adapter.

The website determined if the owner had a CCS-ready Tesla. If you didn't then you were presented with this message: “This accessory requires a retrofit. Check back in early 2023 for availability.” Further down the page, there are instructions to check back in early 2023 for the availability of vehicles requiring a retrofit.

Tesla has also added messaging within its mobile app. If you navigate to the Service section, you'll now see a message at the top of the app displaying 'CCS Adapter Retrofit, check vehicle status.'

Unfortunately tapping on it doesn't offer any additional information, asking owners to check back in early 2023 to schedule an appointment for a retrofit.

CCS stations reportedly reach speeds of more than 150kW in the U.S., and, unfortunately, they are the preferred plug of several manufacturers. There was a petition to have the Tesla charging hardware be the industry standard, but it appears that has failed. CCS is available at Electrify America and Electrify Canada, and several other third-party power suppliers.

Musk Teases New Model for Early 2025 That Will Use a Mix of Next-Gen and Current Platforms

“We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025”. This was one of the key sentences that were part of Tesla’s deck shared on Tuesday directly before its financial results.

Since Reuters’ report a few weeks ago saying Tesla had “scrapped” the highly expected cheaper model— which Elon quickly denied on X —retail and institutional shareholders started asking for more details on Tesla’s product roadmap for 2024 and beyond.

In the earnings conference call, Elon Musk reiterated that Tesla expects to launch the next model in “early 2025, if not late this year”.

“We've updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025. So, we expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year. “

Over concerns of temporary production halts to update the factories for these new models, Musk said that Tesla will produce new models with certain aspects from their next-generation platform and current models. This will reduce the number of changes needed on production lines and allow Tesla not only to ramp up production faster but also to get the vehicles to market quicker.

Model Y Redesign

Tesla appears to hit that their next-gen vehicle will be less “next-gen” than they were initially aiming for, but to get a new vehicle out the door by late 2024, the process would already have to be in motion. Tesla may likely be referring to the redesigned Model Y, which is expected to reuse many parts from the new Model 3. Earlier this year, Tesla said that the redesigned Model Y will not be released this year, so it makes sense that they’re looking to speed up that production.

Tesla CEO concluded by saying that these measures will allow Tesla to reach a capacity of over 3 million units. Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles in 2023. However, this year they’re ramping up Cybertruck production and introduced the new Model 3 into new markets.

And we think this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent.

Tesla reported on Tuesday its earnings results followed by a conference call where it teased its upcoming Robotaxi and its next-generation platform saying its “purpose-built Robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy”.

Earlier in the day, Tesla announced the new Performance variant of its sedan Model 3 with deliveries in the United States starting already next month. The new version starts at $45,490 (after applying the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit) and goes from 0 to 60mph in 2.9 seconds.

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Tesla on FSD: Close to License Deal With Major Automaker, Announces Miles Driven on FSD v12

On Tuesday Tesla reported its earnings results followed by a conference call that brought several updates on the company’s roadmap for future vehicles, autonomous driving, Optimus and much more.

While answering a question from Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney about updates on the licensing of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, Elon Musk said they’re talking to one major auto manufacturer and there’s “a good chance” the company signs the first deal before year-end. However, he went on to say that it would probably be three years before the necessary changes are integrated into the car.

I think we have a good chance we do sign a deal this year

Brings Benefits to Tesla

The technology would require other automakers to start using the same cameras and hardware as Tesla, meaning that Tesla may not only generate money from licensing FSD but also from selling the hardware itself. However, there would be other benefits as well. When licensing FSD, Tesla would likely own the data gathered with the system well, further helping them with data and edge cases that need to be solved to reach full autonomy.

people don't understand all cars will need to be smart cars… Once that becomes obvious, I think licensing becomes not optional.

Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja commented pointing out that future partners “take a lot of time in their product life cycle” resulting in a gap between the deal signing and the arrival in the market of Tesla’s FSD software.

Miles Driven With FSD

On the conference call, Musk added that Tesla now has over 300 million miles that have been driven with FSD v12 since it was launched just last month. He added that it's becoming “very clear that the vision-based approach with end-to-end neural networks is the right solution for scalable autonomy”.

Tesla said it will continue to increase its “core AI infrastructure capacity in the coming months” adding that in the first quarter, it completed the transition to hardware 4.0 with China now receiving the upgraded FSD computer and cameras.

Over the weekend, Tesla reduced the price of FSD dropping it from $12,000 to $8,000 for customers in the United States and from CA$16,000 to CA$11,000 in Canada.

Earlier this month, Tesla implemented a 50% price reduction for FSD subscriptions in the U.S. and introduced the subscription model in Canada at a great value of CA$99 per month.

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