Good idea, small chance
Aptera, the builder of an innovative ‘solar car’, wants the Tesla charging connector to become the standard in the US. That saves a lot of money and is also simply a nicer solution, according to the founders.
Aptera founders Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro have already indicated that they will in any case apply the Tesla charging connector for the Aptera. Although this super-efficient EV is partly charged by the sun, it also still has a charging connection. Tesla’s solution is more compact and lighter and, according to Aptera, also looks nicer and easier to use. So clear benefits.
So much so that, according to Anthony and Fambro, it would be a good idea to use this charging standard for all EVs sold in the US. To make that happen, the two started a petition on Change.org.
Although it is not the most relevant news for us Europeans, we find it interesting. Recently, the discussion has flared up about opening up Tesla Superchargers to electric cars from other brands. That was a lot easier in Europe, because here Tesla has been hanging CCS cables on Superchargers since the arrival of the Model 3. This is not the case in the US and Superchargers are still only equipped with the original, unique Tesla connection.
The Americans came up with that connection before the CCS connection was available, but Tesla itself does not seem to mind making its own connector the standard. The brand has long since won in Europe and uses the CCS connection for the smaller models, while for the Model S and Model X an adapter supplied by Tesla can still be used for the time being. Using the Tesla charging connection for all EVs in the US would therefore result in enormous savings because the chargers of the largest network in the country – that of Tesla – would not have to be adapted. However, it seems unlikely that Aptera’s plan will become a reality, because CCS has become the norm worldwide.
Incidentally, such a CCS or Combo plug is different in the US than with us. North America uses the Type 1 connection, here Type 2 is the standard. The difference is easy to see, because the top ‘AC part’ of the plug is round there and flattened here. The difference is said to be due to the differences in the power grid. In Europe, 3-phase is the norm, and only Type 2 is suitable for this.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl