Polestar EV owners will soon have a lot more charging options. The company said on Tuesday its lineup now has access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the US and Canada. Future Polestar vehicles will adopt the NACS inlet as standard, and current owners can buy an adapter beginning today at their local Polestar Service Point.
A Polestar spokesperson told Engadget that the adapter has an MSRP of $230, so this isn’t a free upgrade. However, that accessory will add 17,800 charging stations across North America, so owners may find that’s a relatively small price to pay for extra peace of mind on their next road trip.
Tesla’s charger has quickly become the standard in the US. Since the company opened its charging tech to rival automakers, all major EV manufacturers have adopted it. This includes Ford (apart from some glitches), Honda, Volkswagen, GM, Volvo, Mercedes, BMW and Lucid. Polestar announced its plans to support the Tesla Supercharger network over a year ago, but the backend tech and adapter orders are now ready.
Tim Stevens for Engadget
Speaking of the adapters, the $230 accessories are slated for mid-November deliveries. So, if you order now, you should have more charging options on your holiday road trip to see Grandma. Polestar says its in-car Google Maps app will be updated to show all available NACS stations.
Anders Gustafsson, Head of Polestar North America, emphasized in a press release the volume of charging options this move will add. “With the adoption of this standard, in combination with approximately 10,000 CCS DC fast chargers, current and prospective Polestar customers 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 took it for a spin and was left impressed with the $73,400 (and up) electric SUV. Emphasizing how badly Polestar needed the long-delayed vehicle to dazzle as a mass-market follow-up to its more niche predecessors, he said that minus a few early software glitches, it’s “great.”