Texas approved its plan to require companies to include Tesla's technology in EV charging stations alongside the existing CCS standard for those stations to be eligible for federal funds, Reuters reported. Opponents called for more time to re-engineer and test alternative connectors.

The decision is being closely watched by other states as it’s a step toward Tesla’s plans to make its technology the U.S. charging standard.

Texas is the recipient of a $5 billion program meant to electrify U.S. highways.

"The two-connector approach being proposed will help assure coverage of a minimum of 97% of the current over 168,000 electric vehicles with fast charge ports in the state," Humberto Gonzalez, director at Texas' Department of Transportation, said while presenting the state's plan to the Texas Transportation Commission.

Some charging companies wrote to the commission opposing the requirement in the first round of funds and citing concerns about the supply chain and certification of Tesla's connectors, saying it would put the successful deployment of EV chargers at risk.

The opposition forced “Texas to defer a vote on the plan twice as it sought to understand NACS and its implications, before the commission voted unanimously to approve the plan,” according to Reuters.

Ford and General Motors announced just over two months ago that they planned to adopt NACS for their EVs.

According to Yahoo Finance, “Federal rules require companies to offer the rival Combined Charging System (CCS), a U.S. standard that has been preferred by the Biden administration, as a minimum to be eligible for the funds.”

However, individual states can add their own requirements in addition to CCS before distributing the federal funds at a local level. Washington state is on the verge while Kentucky has already mandated it. Florida, another major recipient of funds, recently revised it plans, saying it would mandate NACS one year after standards organization, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, which is reviewing the technology, formally recognizes it.

Texas is the home base of Tesla and has the third-highest number of EV registrations in the United States. Most EVs on the road today, with the exclusion of Tesla, utilize CCS to connect to a DC fast charger.

Learn more about where technology is going during the 2023 NACS/Conexxus Technology Roadmap session at the 2023 NACS Show. Register today!