Lucid is the latest automaker to declare its future adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its electric cars, beginning in 2025. Shortly after the official announcement, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, took to his own social media platform to weigh in on the news.
In his characteristic Muskian fashion, he wrote: “That must have been a bitter pill to swallow,” concluding his tweet with a “tears of joy” emoji. Given the ongoing rivalry between Tesla and Lucid, it’s safe to assume that the top brass at the latter didn’t find it particularly amusing.
This is not the first time that Musk publicly comments on Lucid affairs. In August 2022, he trolled Lucid for its slow production rate joking that he had more kids in Q2 2022 than the EVs produced by the Tesla rival. One month earlier, he said that both Lucid and Rivian were “tracking toward bankruptcy”, unless “they cut their costs dramatically”.
That must have been a bitter pill to swallow 😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2023
Returning to Lucid, the EV manufacturer revealed that its customers will gain access to more than 15,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America in 2025. Starting in the same year, Lucid EVs will come equipped with the NACS port. However, all existing and future models featuring the Combined Charging System (CCS) will also be compatible with NACS thanks to an adapter.
Commenting on the news, Lucid’s CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson, said: “Adopting NACS is an important next step to providing our customers with expanded access to reliable and convenient charging solutions for their Lucid vehicles”, adding that “We believe that a unified charging standard, backed by the nationwide rollout of future-ready higher-voltage charging stations, will be a critical step in empowering American consumers to adopt electric vehicles.”
In addition to Lucid, a substantial roster of automakers has already committed to embracing Tesla’s NACS standard. This list includes Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Genesis, Kia, Honda, Subaru, Ford, GM, Nissan, BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Fisker, and Rivian. However, it was Lucid that elicited a playful response from the brash Tesla CEO.
Brands that have confirmed NACS charging port