Tesla Charging Strategy, Blackberry Growth, Stellantis Charging Spinoff

Tesla Charging Strategy

Last week, I came across a few headlines explaining the more visible shift to the North American Charging Standard(NACS) Connector. Last November, Tesla announced that they are going to open the NACS standard. Here you can download the technical specifications for NACS.

The leading competitor to this standard are the CCS charging standard. However, Tesla claims to be miles better than CCS.

One primary difference I see is that Tesla has gone all-in on DC charging. DC Charging is the faster option, more expensive but with scale prices could go down . So just eliminating AC charging contacts drastically improves ergonomics of the connector.

Source: Tesla

This move of opening up NACS achieves 2 things:

1. Allows charging operators to incorporate the NACS chargers. Until then only the Tesla Supercharging network had these connectors and Tesla's charging at a third-party charger would need to use an adapter.

2. Encouraging other OEMs to use the same NACS standard. This was seen as a precursor move to allowing non-Tesla car brands to charge at the Supercharging network. Today the supercharging network offers more than 45000 locations worldwide with a fast charging capability of achieving a mileage of 275km in 15 minutes.

Tesla began allowing non-Tesla vehicles as part of their pilot program all the way back in late 2021. Quite recently they have extended the program to the US.

This pilot program is a key part of their strategy to expand their charging infrastructure. As this will kick start a flywheel effect.

But also a bold declaration that Tesla would be able to keep expanding their charging network ahead of the demand. Failing to do that would be a huge blow to the strategy as not only they have jeopardized the experience for Tesla users but also miscalculated their investment for the expansion.

As per Tesla:

There is an additional cost for non-Tesla users, which can be lowered with a subscription. Although they can use the Tesla app, I do not envision the experience to work seamlessly as it does for Tesla users.

What's going to happen nextTesla would want to take this partnership with other brands to the next level. By providing value add services together with their supercharging subscription. Better overall experience at a premium price. This access to the charging ecosystem and offering an even closer feature parity with Tesla users will have to be carefully balanced. Here Tesla would have to trade-off between justifying a price premium while still maintaining the native Tesla experience as exclusive.OEMs that have signed up so far

So far Polestar, Volvo, Rivian, Ford and GM has announced their move to the NACS standard for their future vehicles. Big players such as VW are reportedly in talks with Tesla. This is a major change of tide. I would compare this to how USB emerged as the universal connector of choice for peripherals in the computer world. But with one caveat: Europe will probably never have the NACS standard. Read more here.

Peek into the future of charging techWhile Tesla is opening up it's supercharging network, last week they announced the acquisition of Wiferion, a wireless charging developer. It is no secret that Tesla is working on their wireless charging solution that actually works and is economically and practically viable. Once that comes into play, I can foresee a tiered approach. Where wireless chargers becomes the premium Tesla exclusive product, that is not scaled to the same extent as superchargers but enjoy a higher margin. And the supercharging network becomes the more scaled up, lower margin, gateway product.

Polestar Is Latest Automaker to Adopt Tesla’s NACS Charging Standard (Link)The Switch From CCS1 To Tesla's NACS Connector Is Expected To Kill The J1772 AC Plug (Link)SAE To Standardize NACS Connector As EV Charging Tide Turns Toward Tesla (Link)Volkswagen Confirms Talks With Tesla Over NACS Charging Standard (Link)CharIN NACS Task Force List Includes Over 50 Companies... But Not Tesla (Link)Tesla acquiring wireless charging developer Wiferion (Link)

Blackberry becomes a major SW player within Automotive

In 2010, Research in Motion, Blackberry's parent company acquired QNX from Harman International. Since then, they have managed to ride 3 major waves in the automotive industry. In a recent study done by techinsights, they have come up with an estimate that Blackberry software is now embedded in over 235 Million vehicles.

Safety

QNX's microkernel architecture, which provides a minimalistic and modular approach to system design, ensures that critical safety functions are isolated from non-safety-critical components. This separation allows for better fault containment and fault tolerance, minimizing the impact of failures on the overall system. The microkernel architecture employed by QNX played a crucial role in enabling its certification for ASIL-D systems.

Source: Blackberry QNX

Cybersecurity

The company's expertise in security extends to sectors such as healthcare, government, finance, and enterprise solutions. In healthcare, Blackberry's solutions ensure the protection of sensitive patient data and secure communication between healthcare providers. Their security capabilities have also been recognized by governments worldwide, with Blackberry offering secure mobile communications for government agencies. In the financial sector, Blackberry's encryption and authentication technologies help safeguard transactions and protect sensitive financial information.

The integration of internet connectivity and extensive software systems in modern cars opened up new avenues for potential cyber threats. Recognizing this challenge, Blackberry leveraged its expertise in secure communication systems and applied it to the automotive domain. They developed Blackberry Jarvis, an advanced cloud-based cybersecurity platform specifically designed for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Software defined vehicles

Modern cars have become sophisticated computers on wheels, relying heavily on software for various functionalities. Blackberry QNX's expertise in embedded systems and real-time operating systems has positioned them well in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Blackberry's collaboration with Amazon and the development of the Blackberry IVY product play a pivotal role in the company's strategy to expand within the realm of software-defined vehicles. By partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Blackberry leverages the power of AWS's cloud infrastructure and advanced machine learning capabilities. Blackberry IVY is an intelligent vehicle data platform that enables automakers to collect, analyze, and utilize vehicle sensor data effectively. The Blackberry IVY platform empowers automakers to harness the wealth of data generated by connected vehicles, enabling them to deliver personalized user experiences, optimize vehicle performance, and enhance overall safety.

BlackBerry Expands Work with AWS to Elevate BlackBerry QNX Foundational Software to the Cloud, Accelerating Time to Market for Mission-Critical Embedded Systems (Link)AWS and BlackBerry QNX join forces to accelerate auto innovation with BlackBerry IVY, a new intelligent vehicle data platform (Link)BlackBerry Software Is Now Embedded In Over 235 Million Vehicles (Link)Wind River and Samsung team to advance the software-defined vehicle (Link)

Stellantis' new charging solution

Last week Stellantis announced their new charging solution Free2move Charge.

At the core of it, this solution has 2 parts

1. Charging hardware-service provider for both retail and business customers

2. Ecosystem of curated chargers in one ecosystem. Native chargers and third party operators in one ecosystem.

Here are my thoughts on this:

1. Why would charging operators lock in their chargers for only a subset of the market (and that too a small subset) limiting their market reach.

2. If charging operators are not going to have go exclusive to Stellantis brands, then any OEM or even a new player could create the next new charging ecosystem. What is stopping others from doing the same thing. I strongly believe this will only lead to more fragmented charging ecosystems.

3. The charging hardware-service provider is a pretty straight forward business. This can be viewed as a value-added feature for Stellantis EVs, which could generate revenue.

Charging Your Way: Stellantis Launches Free2move Charge to Make it ‘Easy to Always Be Charged’ (Link)Stellantis aims to relieve charging anxiety with new service for EV users (Link)

In other news...

First electric bike with ChatGPT unveiled, and it’s as weird as it sounds (Link)

• Urtopia has integrated ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, into its electric bicycles, making it the first e-bike company to do so.

• The integration aims to establish Urtopia as a leader in smart e-bikes, complementing their other proprietary technologies such as built-in GPS navigation, anti-theft features, riding safety, and data recording.

• The integration raises considerations regarding safety, ensuring that the AI interaction doesn't distract the rider, and data privacy, protecting users' personal and location data.

• Here is a video demo of the feature

$1.5 billion ‘Ultra Mega Project’ to spread Gogoro’s battery-swapping electric scooters (Link)

• Gogoro has partnered with the Maharashtra government in India to deploy its battery-swapping infrastructure and electric scooters across the state.

• Gogoro's battery-swapping network allows riders to quickly replace depleted batteries at Gogoro GoStations, taking as little as six seconds.

• The partnership is categorized as an "Ultra Mega Project" with an investment exceeding US $1.5 billion from Gogoro and aims to create approximately 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.

• Gogoro plans to create a domestic supplier ecosystem, enabling both domestic growth and foreign market expansion.Source: Gogoro

Charging stations on the blockchain will be the killer app for EVs (Link)

• Blockchain can provide secure digital identities for the unbanked in the developing world.

• Developing countries can leapfrog and accelerate technology adoption.

• Blockchain can address barriers to EV adoption and provide greater accessibility to services.