To the delight of many owners last year, Tesla officially announced a CCS charging adapter would be coming to South Korea in the first half of 2021.
The adapter would finally allow Tesla owners to plug into a CCS DC fast charger, a common charging standard in North America and elsewhere. In good news the release of the adapter has taken one step forward, and in bad news it has also taken half a step back.
The good news is that the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) has certified the device, according to an update to the government agency’s website last month.
Unfortunately the bad news is it appears as even though it is now certified, its release has been delayed. According to an email sent to owners in Korea the adapter will now be released in the second half of 2021.
The email also states that as a result of the delay, Tesla is lowering the price of the CHAdeMO adapter from ₩614,000 ($666 CAD) down to ₩445,000 ($483 CAD).
While Tesla has not made any announcement about whether the adapter will be available in other markets, it is looking promising that it will. According to information received by Drive Tesla, the adapter is already being tested on all the major charging networks in North America.
Further support of its release this side of the pond is the new Model S owners manual. In the ‘Charging Equipment’ section of the manual it lists several adapters offered by the automaker, one of them being CCS.
If it does appear, it would be a welcomed addition to the set of charging accessories. Tesla owners in Canada and the US would be more than happy to ditch the massive and clunky CHAdeMO adapter for something similar in size to the J1772 adapter included with Tesla vehicles.
Here is a translation of the email sent to Korean Tesla owners (via Reddit).
We would like to inform you that the release of the CCS1 charging adapter, which was scheduled for the first half of 2021, has been delayed to the second half of the year, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Currently, the certification related to the CCS1 charging adapter has been completed, and we will do our best to release the product as soon as possible.
In addition, the price of the CHAdeMO charging adapter will be reduced to improve the charging experience for Tesla owners. The reduced price will be effective from June 14, 2021.
Before change: ₩614,000 ($550 USD)
After change: ₩445,000 ($400 USD)
