Short answer: NACS — the North American Charging Standard — is the former Tesla connector, standardised in 2024–2025 as SAE J3400. It uses a single compact connector for both AC and DC, switches the power pins internally depending on what the station offers, and has been adopted by essentially every major automaker selling in North America. For anyone building or importing EV charging equipment, this makes NACS one of the five standards a converter catalogue must cover.
What NACS actually is
- Physical: one connector, five power/signal pins plus a proximity pin, roughly half the volume of CCS1.
- Electrical: up to 1000 V and, in the J3400 specification, up to 615 A; deployed Tesla Superchargers today deliver 250–325 kW per post.
- Protocol: ISO 15118 / DIN 70121 over power-line communication for third-party stations, with Tesla's own protocol on legacy Superchargers.
- AC and DC on the same pins: the vehicle and the station decide which path to use. This is why NACS↔CCS1 converters cannot simply be a passive shell — the switching and the signalling both live in the electronics.
Why a factory outside North America should care
Three reasons, all commercial:
- Import volume. Cars with NACS ports are now sold in the US, Canada and Mexico in large numbers, and they travel: shipped to the Gulf, exported to Europe, driven across borders.
- Station retrofits. North American operators are adding NACS cables to CCS1 stations, which creates demand for NACS↔CCS1 converters at both ends.
- Test and service. Workshops in Europe and Asia servicing imported Teslas and NACS-equipped cars need NACS→CCS2 and NACS→GB/T converters.
The four NACS DC directions
| Direction | Model prefix | Typical use | Reference rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| NACS → CCS1 | DC-TZM | NACS car at a CCS1 station (Europe-imported or legacy US sites) | 300 A, DC 1000 V |
| NACS → CCS2 | DC-TZO | NACS car at a European CCS2 station; the most-requested direction for export | 300 A, DC 1000 V |
| NACS → GB/T | DC-TZG | NACS car at a Chinese GB/T station | 300 A, DC 1000 V |
| NACS → CHAdeMO | DC-TZR | NACS car at a Japanese CHAdeMO charger; niche but requested by rental fleets | 250 A |
The reverse directions (CCS1→NACS, CCS2→NACS, GB/T→NACS, CHAdeMO→NACS) serve the opposite case: a CCS or GB/T vehicle at a NACS post.
Four things people get wrong
- “NACS is just Tesla's connector, it's not a standard.” That was true before 2024. SAE J3400 was published in December 2024, and the connector is now referenced by North American charging programmes.
- “A CCS1 adapter works for NACS.” Only through a NACS→CCS1 converter. CCS1 and NACS share a protocol family but not geometry.
- “NACS can charge at 1 MW.” The standard allows high current in principle; deployed hardware is 250–325 kW per post. Converter ratings of 300 A cover today's field reality.
- “AC and DC on the same pins means one simple product can do both.” Exactly the opposite — dual-path switching is what makes NACS converters harder to design than CCS1↔CCS2.
Frequently asked questions
Is a NACS→CCS2 converter the same as a Tesla European adapter?
Functionally similar, commercially different. Tesla's own adapter is a branded accessory. Third-party converters are built for fleets: higher continuous current, serviceable protocol board, IP67 housing.
Will a NACS car charge at full speed through a converter?
Up to the converter's rating and the station's output. On a 150 kW CCS2 station, a 300 A converter is not the bottleneck.
Which protocol revisions should the board support?
ISO 15118-2 as the baseline; ISO 15118-20 where the station uses it; DIN 70121 for older CCS hardware. Ask the supplier to state this explicitly in writing.