Tesla to add CCS connector to Superchargers in the US

Tesla Superchargers in Taiwan with Tesla and CCS connectors

@hsumacher/Twitter

The CCS (Combined Charging System) has become the standard for electric vehicle charging over the last few years.

When Tesla first debuted the 2012 Model S, the CCS charging connector didn't exist. In fact Tesla developed its proprietary Tesla connector because there wasn't anything capable of fast DC charging.

Today, the CCS connector supports charging speeds up to 350kW.

For comparison, Tesla's latest v3 Superchargers can currently charge at speeds up to 250kW, although Tesla plans to update v3 Superchargers later this year to support up to 324kW.

Tesla already offers Superchargers with CCS connectors in several regions, but they will now begin adding CCS connectors to Superchargers in the United States.

Tesla will add the CCS connector in addition to Tesla's own connector. This will give non-Tesla owners access the extensive charging network, Elon Musk said.

This announcement follows the path announced by the CEO to eventually open its Supercharger network to all-electric vehicles globally.

Non-Tesla electric cars have been allowed to charge at select Tesla Supercharger locations in France, the Netherlands, and Norway since November.

Allowing Superchargers - which account for more than half of all fast chargers in the United States to charge all electric vehicles would be easier and less expensive for everyone involved, and it would substantially improve the landscape of the current fast-charging infrastructure.

CCS is the obvious charging standard to go with, given that Tesla, like many other manufacturers, has already accepted CCS standards in Europe and its Supercharger stations are already equipped with CCS connectors.

Tesla's cars and Supercharger stations in North America use its own proprietary connector, which has rendered Non-Tesla owners unable to use Tesla's fast-charging infrastructure.

It also prevents Tesla owners from charging at other DC charging stations, unless they spend a considerable amount of money purchasing a CHAdeMO or CCS adapter.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit, Musk said they will add the connectors even if it lessens their competitive advantage over other automakers.

“It's a little trickier in the US because we have a different connector than the rest of the industry, but we will be adding the rest of the industry connectors as an option to Superchargers in the US. We are trying as best as possible to do the right thing for the advancement of electrification, even if that diminishes our competitive advantage,” Musk said.

This is comparable to Tesla's approach in Europe when the Model 3 was originally introduced with the CCS standard. Both Tesla and CCS connectors were installed at new Supercharger stations, and the carmaker also began retrofitting some existing stations.

Last year, the Taiwan EV Charger Equipment Supplier and Manufacturer Advancement Alliance declared that CCS should be the country's charging standard, forcing Tesla to retrofit CCS connectors to all Superchargers.

Tesla upgraded Superchargers with CCS connectors in addition to their proprietary connectors a few months after the decision.

Tesla's CEO gave no indication of when the company planned to begin installing CCS connectors at stations in the United States.

Is Your Vehicle Compatible?

The connector the US is using differs slightly from the CCS connector in Europe. In the US it's known as CCS combo 1, or CCS1 for short. This is the connector that Tesla will support in the US and it is not interchangeable with CCS2 that is used in Europe.

Tesla is already selling an adapter to go from CCS1 to Tesla's plug, but it is currently only available in South Korea. Tesla is likely to make this adapter available for sale in the US in the future.

However, your Tesla will need to specifically support the CCS adapter. If your Tesla was built after May 2019, then it likely supports the CCS adapter. If it was before then, then it will need to be retrofitted if you plan to charge using the CCS 1 adapter.

You can check whether your car supports the CCS adapter by going to Controls > Software and tapping Additional Vehicle Information.

You can also find more information about how to check whether your car is supported, the cost of a retrofit, and the cost of the adapter in our CCS adapter article.

Follow

Follow

Follow

Tesla Releases FSD V12.6.1 for Model 3 & Model Y

Not a Tesla App

Last night, Tesla released software update 2024.45.25.15, which includes FSD V12.6.1. This update adds support for all HW3 vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. We’re excited to see the continued support for HW3 owners. 

FSD V12.6.1

V12.6.1 is now going wide, according to Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI. This update is going to the Model 3 and Model Y for the first time - as only the Model S and Model X were included in FSD V12.6. 

V12.6 is a big step forward for HW3 - it includes End-to-End on Highway, Improved City Streets Behavior, and Smoother and More Accurate Tracking - all contributing towards a better, smoother, and more comfortable build of FSD. You can read our comparison between FSD V12.6 and V13.2.2 here. 

In short, FSD V12.6 performs considerably closer to V13 than V12.5.4.2 - which is a massive improvement. It performs as well as the Cybertruck version of FSD V13, which is still missing a few features when compared to other HW4 vehicles, but it’s a great sign for HW3. A lot of the improvements can be pointed to in the improvements to lane selection and decision-making - the vehicle tends to hesitate far less on V12.6, meaning the ride is a lot smoother. Many early V12.6 testers mentioned that it felt more like V13-mini than anything else.

Legacy Model S & X

We haven’t seen this update hit any legacy Model S and Model X vehicles just yet. We’re not sure whether Ashok’s statement of “generally” applies here - but it should. If you do get the update, please let us know.

Legacy Model S and Model X vehicles are still on an older FSD build and potentially won’t see another FSD update for a little while longer. While they do have the same FSD hardware as other vehicles, there are enough hardware differences that require a build specifically for these vehicles.

Release Date

FSD V12.6.1 is going out now to the redesigned Model S and X with HW3 and all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles with HW3. The initial wave went out last night, and we expect to see more later today or tomorrow. If this release ends up going “wide,” we should see much larger waves go out next week.

Follow

Follow

Follow

Tesla Issues Physical & OTA Recall for Hardware 4 Computer

Not a Tesla App

Tesla has issued a recall for some vehicles due to issues linked to a revision of the Hardware 4 (HW4) computer that was introduced this past November. This recall affects all vehicles with the revised hardware except for the Cybertruck, as it uses a slightly modified version of the HW4 system.

Many vehicle owners have reported a complete failure of their Autopilot computer, which not only leaves the vehicle without FSD and Autopilot but also disables many of the active safety features that make a Tesla what it is.

Let’s take a look at this recall - because the recall is partially physical and partially a software recall.

HW4 Failure

Tesla has identified the failure and flagged it to the U.S. NHTSA (but not Transport Canada or Euro NCAP at the time of publishing) as a recall.

Tesla mentions that the vehicle’s FSD computer circuit board may short circuit, resulting in the loss of the rearview camera image. The recall itself is focused on the rearview camera - as not having a functional rearview camera breaks a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. However, it does impact more than just the rearview camera.

As previously mentioned, users have experienced the full loss of Autopilot and FSD on these vehicles, as well as reduced traction control and removal of safety features such as automatic emergency braking, collision avoidance assist, and forward collision warnings. 

While the vehicle remains driveable, it is not necessarily a good idea to drive the vehicle with many of these features, especially with the reduced traction control noted by many people. We’ve already noted that while Tesla has been sending tow trucks to pick up some vehicles, it is also prompting owners to drive the vehicle to their service center in some cases.

Remedy

Unlike most of Tesla’s recalls, this one isn’t entirely an OTA recall, owing to the fact that people have already experienced circuit board shorts and are already waiting for replacements.

The software portion of the recall has already been mostly completed for any vehicles with Tesla software update 2024.45.25.3 or greater. However, a significant portion of the tracked fleet remains on update 2024.44.25.2 (approximately 20%), so we recommend updating your HW4 vehicle whenever you receive the notification.

On the hardware side, Tesla is immediately identifying and replacing hardware that has had circuit board failure. Tesla is also reaching out to customers who have expressed intermittent issues with Autopilot features, active safety features, or vehicle cameras that don't display correctly. If you have experienced any of these issues in a late 2024 vehicle, we recommend submitting a service ticket with Tesla to ensure that your vehicle isn’t affected by this recall.

Follow

Follow

Follow