NACS / J3400: what the Tesla connector means for commercial charging

For a decade, North American EV charging had two plugs: the J1772 and CCS1 connectors used by every automaker except Tesla, and Tesla's own compact connector. That ended in 2023. Tesla published its connector as the North American Charging Standard, SAE International standardized it as J3400, and over the following two years essentially every automaker selling in North America announced it would adopt the port. For anyone building a charging station today the question of which plug to install has a new answer.

What changed and when

• Late 2022: Tesla opens its connector design as NACS.
• 2023: Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Toyota, and others announce adoption. SAE publishes J3400 as a standard in December 2023.
• 2024: Non-Tesla EVs gain access to Tesla Superchargers with adapters, by brand, through the year.
• 2025 model year onward: automakers begin shipping vehicles with native J3400 ports. Adapters serve the installed base of CCS1 vehicles.
• 2026: J3400 is the connector for most new EVs sold in the United States. CCS1 and J1772 remain on millions of vehicles on the road.

What to specify for Level 2

For Level 2 charging the practical difference between J1772 and J3400 is small: the same AC power, a different plug. Every Tesla ships with a J1772 adapter, and J3400-equipped vehicles from other brands include or can buy one. For apartments, workplaces, and retail, the current reasonable choices are J1772 chargers, which serve everything with an adapter, or dual-connector and J3400 units where the manufacturer offers them. Tesla's own Universal Wall Connector ships with a built-in J1772 adapter for exactly this reason. For a mixed, long-lived installation we usually recommend networked units from a manufacturer that offers both connector options on the same platform, so cables can be swapped as the vehicle mix changes.

What to specify for DC fast charging

DC fast charging is where the connector matters more, because the J3400 and CCS1 connectors carry different communication and the cables are not interchangeable with a simple passive adapter. The 2026 answer is dual-cable fast chargers: a post with both a J3400 cable and a CCS1 cable, so every vehicle charges natively. Most major fast-charger manufacturers now offer this configuration. Sites that install CCS1-only hardware today will serve a shrinking share of new vehicles; sites that install J3400-only will strand the installed base of CCS1 vehicles for years.

What California requires of public chargers

Connector choice is only one requirement for public charging in California. Publicly available chargers must meet the state's measurement and payment rules: DC fast chargers must be certified under the California Type Evaluation Program for billing accuracy, and the Air Resources Board's EVSE standards set payment-method and connectivity requirements for publicly available stations. Rebate programs add their own equipment eligibility lists. We design to all of these so the hardware the owner buys is the hardware the programs will fund.

Future-proofing the infrastructure

• Oversize the raceway. Conduit is cheap during construction and expensive afterward; size it for the full build-out, not the first phase.
• Pick hardware with field-replaceable cables and connector options on the same platform.
• Design the electrical capacity and the pads for higher-power posts than you install on day one.
• On a canopy, mount posts at the column line with cable reach planned for both left- and right-side charge ports; J3400 vehicles typically have the port at the rear left, CCS1 vehicles vary.
• Keep the software open: OCPP-compliant hardware lets the owner change networks without changing posts.