Tesla opens up their EV connector design to the world (North American Standard)

[whitex]

Btw, did anyone find the specs for the communications Tesla does for AC and DC? The specs I found don't give any details on either, not even mention the car to EVSE communications by for AC which retrieve car VIN etc. Those communications are supported by Tesla EVSE and are the reason why you have to wait a few seconds after plugging in a TeslaTap adapter.

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[daveo4EV]

Btw, did anyone find the specs for the communications Tesla does for AC and DC? The specs I found don't give any details on either, not even mention the car to EVSE communications by for AC which retrieve car VIN etc. Those communications are supported by Tesla EVSE and are the reason why you have to wait a few seconds after plugging in a TeslaTap adapter.

my understanding is they attempt to run the J-1772 comm protocol (analog for a bit) and if they get an answer/successful communication they then know they are talking "base" J-1772 - if they get no answer via J-1772 - then they switch to "digital" communication protocol across the two comm-lines and if they get a successful comm channel they then know they are talking to a Tesla AC or DC charger…I don't know that the protocol is documented for the digital portion of the handshakes…

the connector is communications/AC/DC agnostic - it can handle any communication since it's simply passive electrical connectors.

 

[whitex]

my understanding is they attempt to run the J-1772 comm protocol (analog for a bit) and if they get an answer/successful communication they then know they are talking "base" J-1772 - if they get no answer via J-1772 - then they switch to "digital" communication protocol across the two comm-lines and if they get a successful comm channel they then know they are talking to a Tesla AC or DC charger…I don't know that the protocol is documented for the digital portion of the handshakes…

the connector is communications/AC/DC agnostic - it can handle any communication since it's simply passive electrical connectors.

I think it's the other way around on the J1772, or else you would not need TeslaTap to wait (you could plug into the Taycan and instantly get Tesla to get a "base" J1772 response). I think they wait to see if they get their proprietary comms (IIRC it's a modified CAN bus over one of the pins), and only if not, they switch to "base" J1772.

It looks like they released only the physical specifications, no details on their protocols. So really just a media stunt and a potential maneuver to fool politicians in order to get government grants, since based on the information they released nobody would actually be able to build a car to use Tesla superchargers.

 

[daveo4EV]

I think it's the other way around on the J1772, or else you would not need TeslaTap to wait (you could plug into the Taycan and instantly get Tesla to get a "base" J1772 response). I think they wait to see if they get their proprietary comms (IIRC it's a modified CAN bus over one of the pins), and only if not, they switch to "base" J1772.

It looks like they released only the physical specifications, no details on their protocols. So really just a media stunt and a potential maneuver to fool politicians in order to get government grants, since based on the information they released nobody would actually be able to build a car to use Tesla superchargers.

ok - I still like their connector way way way better than the North America CCS connector - I'd still love to see a migration to this connector and adapters for legacy…

 

[porsche_coyote]

this is why their connector is smaller/easier to handle than CCS - the design "shares" the high voltage pins for AC/DC depending on what type of charging they are actually plugged into

J-1772 and CCS require separate AC and DC connectors even though there will never be both in use at once…

https://tesla-cdn.thron.com/static/IPBML2_North_American_Charging_Standard_AC_DC_Pin_Sharing_Appendix_O3AG95.pdf?xseo=&response-content-disposition=inline;filename="North-American-Charging-Standard-AC-DC-Pin-Sharing-Appendix.pdf"

regardless of how you feel about Tesla the company - there are elements of their tech that would be excellent as industry standard and have nothing to do with how you feel about their cars - their charging reputation is excellent and their connector design is functional, elegant, flexible, and superior ergonomically…

I do love the form factor of Tesla's connector, but I've heard informed people (techs for EV makers and charging networks) several times say that the Tesla connector isn't well-designed for high-voltage charging. That seems like a pretty significant limitation if we look down the road at all at future charging. No disagreement that it makes little difference for the current crop of EVs, but I hope we're not just designing infrastructure for those.

 

[whitex]

ok - I still like their connector way way way better than the North America CCS connector - I'd still love to see a migration to this connector and adapters for legacy…

I hear you, but for that Tesla needs to convince the CCS standard body, not other car manufacturers. No manufacturer will stick their neck out and make their cars require an adapter to charge everywhere. Tesla should have pushed for this before the mass CCS rollout in the USA. Heck, I bet if they actually opened their Superchargers to all manufacturers early enough, comms and all, they would have been the de-facto US standard - think VHS tapes.

 

[jvincent]

The weighty and inflexible cable is what makes CCS unwieldy, not the plug itself. The cabinet makers have spent zero on improving that situation. Both cable and plug can be made much, much better within the existing CCS standard. No need to feed the Tesla Troll.

 

[rui]

The weighty and inflexible cable is what makes CCS unwieldy, not the plug itself. The cabinet makers have spent zero on improving that situation. Both cable and plug can be made much, much better within the existing CCS standard. No need to feed the Tesla Troll.

100%. Plug is just a plug. It's the cable/cooling/cabinet/power converter/deployment make the difference.

 

[feye]

Here's the thing. By making the standard "open" he now qualifies for Fed money to install chargers.

I do not expect any CCS manufacturer to switch to this connector, though I do think it's better.

Exactly, the only thing this guy is good at is ripping off tax payers money.

 

[DRR]

Almost every female hates using CCS connectors – especially compared to AC charging plugs – and presumably the similarly sized Tesla connectors being discussed here.

In fact there is a lot about the EV industry that isn't particularly female friendly – at least here in Europe: top of the list is the remote and often unlit locations of public fast chargers.

Agree. My wife drives a Model Y Performance and loves the easy to handle NACS connector. She is small and struggles to plug in the CCS connector on my Taycan.

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