His concerns are many and they are valid, but Lucid will probably end up adopting the NACS adapter anyway.
In recent weeks, a slew of automakers have decided to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter, but Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson thinks this may be a bad call. The change is being made by big names such as Ford and General Motors, along with newer automakers such as Rivian. Even EV charger companies are jumping on board.
Lucid's CEO told Bloomberg that the brouhaha around the topic is a bit much, saying, “It's just a plug,” and adding, “What we're really comparing is, is it a screw cap or is it a cork on the bottle, not the quality of the wine. It's rather bizarre.”
And this isn't just Lucid being bitter towards its rival. Don't forget that Rawlinson served as the chief engineer for the Model S and was directly involved in the design of the NACS connector.
The British-born engineer has said Lucid will probably end up adopting NACS and has openly said that Tesla has a superior charging network. However, he still has some reservations.
Lucid's adoption of the NACS would have to be on the right terms. SAE International only recently announced that it has started the process to standardize NACS. This involves copious amounts of consumer data, from payment details to driving habits, and adopting the NACS before the SAE approves it could be premature.
“If you've got the most advanced technology in the world, you're a bit reluctant to resist that,” said Rawlinson, referring to the unparalleled charging speeds of the Air. “If you haven't got the most advanced technology in the world, you're not really incentivized to tread that warily,” added Rawlinson.
This isn't the only thing that Lucid's CEO has reservations about: “Whoever controls this – if it isn't an open, impartial standard; if it's owned by one company – has access to a lot of consumer data. It's who owns that data, and making it genuinely open-sourced, that would worry me.”
And there are other concerns to take note of.
While the government is investing a great deal into electrifying America's highways and installing chargers in isolated areas, Rawlinson believes federal funding earmarked for improving charging infrastructure should be diverted to slower overnight charging when there isn't a high demand on the grid.
“Why do you have an EV? Partly because it's better, but partly because you care about the environment,” said the CEO. “The best thing for the environment is to have the power stations running more evenly on a 24-hour cycle. The worst thing for the environment is going charging daytime when the factories are running [and] everybody's cooking.”
Last year, the State of California urged residents not to charge their vehicles during peak times.
Even with more charging stations, overwhelming the grid is still possible, so it's easy to understand where Rawlinson is coming from. “What matters is that there is a standard that everyone can use, that it's an open standard, and given there is taxpayer money involved, that it's future-proof and reliable,” concluded Rawlinson in his interview with Bloomberg.
Lucid knows its technology is outstanding and will attract other automakers, and it has long distanced the Air from comparisons with Tesla's Model S, but it's not snobbishness at play here. His concerns are genuine and should be carefully considered by those rushing headfirst into NACS adoption.
He's not saying NACS is bad – just that it needs to be good for all EVs all the time. We can get behind that.
Keyword: Lucid CEO Expresses Concern Over Tesla's NACS Connector Becoming The Gold Standard