Although many EV makers in the US are on a mission to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), there are still many early adopters tooling around in vehicles with a hodgepodge of Combined Charging System (CCS) and SAE J1722 type connectors.
This proves an issue, as EV owners either have to carry around the correct array of adaptors or risk only using charging stations that are compatible with the car – not a recommended solution.
Tesla's Magic Dock is here to save the day and has been hailed as a game-changing EV accessory by many circles (chiefly Tesla fans) as the new charging station will neatly morph into a NACS to CCS or NACS to J1772 connector when the user unlocks it.
According to Electrek, a recent patent filing reveals more about the inner workings of the Magic Dock system, but like many patent filings, the language is almost impossible to decipher.
From what we can gather, the system sees the adaptor locked away inside the Supercharger housing when not in use, and automatically engages when the user selects it, rather than risking the user having to fit it (potentially incorrectly) or worse, stealing the connector and spoiling the party for everyone.
Better connected
Seeing as so many manufacturers in the US are switching to NACS next year, there actually might not be much call for a Magic Dock system as we progress to the next generation of EVs.
Regardless, Tesla is busy rolling out its Magic Dock charging systems across North America, presumably to open its network up to as many electric vehicle owners as possible.
However, Tesla took $7.5 billion in government subsidies to open up its networks to non-NACS vehicles earlier this year, which came with the caveat that it had to include vehicles fitted with CCS, according to Reuters. So either Musk is doing EV owners a favor, or Magic Dock is just a way to fulfill that quota.
