Polestar electric vehicle owners will soon have many more charging options. The company said Tuesday that its line now has access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the United States and Canada. Future Polestar vehicles will adopt the NACS input as standard, and current owners can purchase an adapter from today at their local Polestar service point.
A Polestar spokesperson told Engadget that the adapter has an MSRP of $230, so it's not a free upgrade. However, that accessory will add 17,800 charging stations across North America, so owners may find it's a relatively small price to pay for added peace of mind on their next road trip.
The Tesla charger has quickly become the standard in the United States. Since the company opened up its charging technology to rival automakers, all major EV makers have adopted it. This includes Ford (aside from some technical glitches), Honda, Volkswagen, GM, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW and Lucid. Polestar announced its plans to support the Tesla Supercharger network more than a year ago, but orders for adapters and backend technology are already in place.
Speaking of adapters, the $230 accessories are scheduled to ship in mid-November. So if you order now, you should have more charging options on your vacation road trip to see grandma. Polestar says its Google Maps app for cars will be updated to show all available NACS stations.
Anders Gustafsson, director of Polestar North America, emphasized in a press release the volume of charging options this move will add. “With the adoption of this standard, combined with approximately 10,000 CCS DC fast chargers, Polestar customers and prospects now have access to nearly 27,800 DC fast chargers and can feel more confident in their ability to charge on the go.”
The Polestar 3 is delivering now. Engadget's Tim Stevens tested it and was impressed with the $73,400 (and up) electric SUV. Emphasizing how much Polestar needed the long-delayed vehicle to shine as a mass-market follow-up to its more specialized predecessors, he said that, barring some early software glitches, it's “great.”
