NACS (North American Charging Standard)
North American Charging Standard
The charging connector Tesla developed and opened to the industry, standardized by SAE as J3400. One connector handles both AC and DC charging.
NACS is the charging connector Tesla designed for its own cars. On 11 November 2022 Tesla announced it was opening the design to the industry, under the name North American Charging System. SAE International has since published it as SAE J3400, covering DC or single-phase AC power through one connector.
As of September 2026, the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation says most EV models on the market use CCS1 and most manufacturers committed to incorporating J3400 beginning in 2025, which the Department of Energy says will let non-Tesla EVs charge at Tesla stations. J3400 works with the J1772 connector for AC through an adapter. Natural Resources Canada calls NACS a preferred connector type for vehicles in Canada. Depending on the model year, a car may have a J3400 inlet or a CCS1 inlet with an adapter, so treat inlet type as a real spec, not a footnote.
None of this applies in Europe or Australia. EU public charging points must offer at least Type 2 for AC and CCS/Combo 2 for high-power DC, and the European observatory says Tesla has supplied EU-market vehicles with a CCS inlet since the end of 2018. Australia uses Type 2 and CCS2.
Differs by market
Relevant to North America, including the US and Canadian markets. EU rules require public charging points to offer at least Type 2 for AC and CCS2 for high-power DC, and Australia uses Type 2 and CCS2.