Key Takeaways
- The upcoming Rivian R2 will have a NACS charge port for Tesla Supercharger compatibility, but it was initially in an inconvenient location.
- Rivian plans to move the charge port to the rear driver’s side to make it easier for R2 owners to charge at Supercharger stations.
- While the R2 will have the new charge port location, it is unlikely that the existing R1 models will undergo a similar change in the near future.
The upcoming Rivian R2 will ship with an NACS charge port, meaning it will be natively compatible with the Tesla Supercharger Network. There’s just one problem; the charge port is located on the passenger’s (right) side, meaning it might be difficult to reach at some Supercharger locations. Tesla places the charge port on the driver’s (left side) of the vehicle, typically near the rear under a taillight cover. To make it easier to charge the R2 at a Supercharger station, Rivian plans to move the charge port location.
Available Years
A Rivan forum user posted confirmation that Rivian planned to make this change before the R2 goes into production. Every prototype that’s been shown in public had the port on the right side in the rear. “We can confirm the charge port will be located on the rear driver’s side of R2,” a Rivian spokesperson confirmed to CarBuzz. “We look forward to sharing more info and specs on R2 in the future.”
Why Change The Location?
Rivian originally put the charge port on the right side to accommodate charging while street parking. If the port is on the driver’s side, EV owners would need to wrap the cable over the hood in order to charge. This setup is less common in the US, where chargers typically have a conventional pull-in parking spot.
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If Rivian kept the charger on the passenger side, it could disrupt the flow at a Tesla Supercharger by requiring an R2 owner to double park and take up two spots. Now that the charge port will be located in a similar spot as a Tesla, R2 drivers shouldn’t have any trouble plugging in their car.
Will Other Rivians Make The Change?
Rivian became one of the first automakers to allow fast-charging at a Supercharger station. This requires an adapter because the R1T and R1S still ship with a CCS connector, not an NACS one. Both vehicles have a charge port on the front left bumper, making it possible to pull straight into most Supercharger locations without needing to back up.
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Both R1 vehicles recently received a refresh that did not change the charge port location, so we doubt Rivian will make a change before an all-new model arrives. As for the R3, it’s far enough away from production that Rivian has plenty of time to change the placement of the port. The R2 won’t arrive on the market until 2026, and the R3 doesn’t have an official on-sale date yet.
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