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SAE has voted unanimously to form a task force to expedite its NACS standardization process, and thinks that this process could finish by the end of the year – much earlier than we expected. We spoke with the chair of the task force for some insight on what the process might look like.

Tesla released specifications of its charging connector in November 2022. It called it the “North American Charging Standard,” which was somewhat of an absurd name at the time, given that Tesla was the only company using it.

However, Tesla’s argument was that most of the cars and most of the DC charging stations in America already used Tesla’s connector, so it should be considered a de facto standard anyway.

For a few months not many people took this seriously, until Ford shook up the industry by announcing it would adopt the NACS plug on upcoming vehicles. Soon after, GM made the same move, and now basically everyone else has.

So now that we have what looks like a standard, the professional engineering organization which develops industry standards has taken up the flag of creating a real, independent standard that is no longer in the hands of Tesla.

This is an important move because many governments and companies would understandably have an issue with a single company having control over a standard that, at this point, it seems like everyone is planning to use.

NACS standard could come this year, named “J3400”

We talked to Rodney McGee, Ph.D., of the University of Delaware, who is chairing SAE’s NACS task force.

The most important thing he told us is that the SAE Task Force aims to publish its work by the end of this year, only around six months after the start of the standards process. This is significantly faster than we thought it would take to complete the process.

McGee said that SAE is the only standards-setting organization that would be able to publish NACS this quickly, because the timelines for meetings and consensus in the ISO and IEC, two other standards organizations, are much longer due to the complex document processes used by these international organizations.

Another reason for this quicker timeline is because the NACS connector already exists on millions of vehicles, and makes up the majority of the installed base in the US. Since their stations are listed to UL standards and have been proven in the real world, many questions are already answered.

The standard will likely take the official name “J3400,” similar to the name of the current J1772 plug used in SAE CCS chargers. Though it could colloquially be known as J3400, NACS, or even “the Tesla plug,” depending on which name the EV-owning public seizes on.

But McGee told us that this his interest in NACS isn’t just on the DC side of charging, where most of the public’s imagination has focused, but on AC charging where the vast majority of actual charge sessions occur. It turns out that NACS is superior to J1772 for AC charging in one significant way – it can use an input voltage of up to 277 volts, whereas J1772 uses 208-240V.

This not only enables faster AC charging due to higher voltages, but more importantly makes for easier setup on commercial electricity supplies, which is often supplied as 480-volt three-phase power, of which a 277-volt single-phase circuit can be used for charging. This could make public AC charging – in parking garages for apartment buildings or workplaces, for example – cheaper and easier to install since commercial customers won’t need to install their own transformers.

McGee said that Tesla has been very helpful with the process in the last two weeks since SAE proposed making NACS a real standard, and is leaving the future of NACS up to a consensus-based standards process.

This has helped to allay some concerns across the industry, especially in Europe, which was skeptical that NACS could be a protectionist move. Europe has mandated non-proprietary charging connectors before and recently wasn’t happy about EV protectionism in the US Inflation Reduction Act, so this recent groundswell of support for a standard controlled by one American company was met with some skepticism. Having a standards-setting organization in control of the future of NACS makes it much more palatable (and might have led to Mercedes’ announcement to adopt it last week).

Why Plug & Charge is broken and how to fix it

Plug & Charge, a colloquial name for the ISO 15118 standard which allows simple “plug in & walk away” operation of public charging stations, has had a long and difficult implementation process. For years charging station providers have promised it’s just around the corner, but it seems to never materialize.

This is part of why Tesla leads in charging experience satisfaction, because plugging into a Supercharger is a simple process that takes seconds, whereas other chargers might require a subscription, a payment app, swiping a credit card, or at the very least waiting the better part of a minute for authentication to occur before charging initiates.

Besides these user experience issues, McGee pointed out one of the lesser-discussed reasons the standard has been hard to implement in the US, and how the SAE has been working on that problem since before NACS, and sees NACS as a opportunity to further its effort.

Plug & Charge requires a Public Key Infrastructure on the back-end to authenticate vehicles and payments. Public keys are a cryptographic mechanism that allow for secure authentication – one example is website certificates, so your computer can know that it is looking at a legitimate website.

In Europe, this PKI is provided by a company called Hubject, which verifies charging sessions on European public chargers.

But in the US, nobody has coalesced around a single company or organization to provide these certificate services yet. McGee said this is a major obstacle to Plug & Charge in the ISO 15118 standard, first published in 2014, since it is a technical standard did not initially prescribe solutions that were practical for the market.

SAE participants see the wider efforts around the NACS process as an opportunity to solve this problem going forward. Since the industry is shifting to NACS, this disruption could serve as the right time to solve this problem. It is engaging with industry (through SAE-ITC) to create a PKI for NACS which will hopefully solve this problem going forward.

Electrek’s Take

We were surprised to hear that NACS could be certified as a standard by the end of this year.

In the past, standards have taken much longer to develop – in fact, that’s why we even have the Tesla plug in the first place.

When Tesla was building the Model S, there wasn’t a standard that could do both AC and fast DC charging in the same plug. The rest of the industry – and the SAE – was slowly working out the CCS standard, but Tesla couldn’t wait any longer and went its own way, building the Tesla plug and later revealing the Supercharger network.

Now, more than a decade later, that Tesla connector looks likely to become the main charging standard in North America.

So the idea that this could be approved by the end of the year definitely raised our eyebrows, given the history of charging standards implementation and sometimes-long timelines involved.

And we’ve had a lot of questions about Plug & Charge and how long it has taken to implement in the past, so the conversation with McGee was enlightening on that front. It’s good to hear that a solution might finally be around the corner.

But this is a bit of a double-edged sword – while the NACS disruption gives an opportunity to solve the Plug & Charge problem for NACS, increased focus on the new charging standard might mean that nobody bothers to fix it for CCS, as it rapidly becomes considered a “legacy standard” the likes of CHAdeMO.

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it’s even better than expected

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it's even better than expected

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is finally here, and it delivers. Hyundai’s electric sports car is loaded with fun new features, a sleek design (including a massive rear wing), 641 horsepower, and much more.

Meet the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N

After teasing the new model for the first time last month, Hyundai created quite a buzz. Now, we are finally getting our first look at the upgraded high-performance EV.

Hyundai unveiled the new IONIQ 6 N at the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday in West Sussex, England. The upgraded model follows Hyundai’s first high-performance EV, the IONIQ 5 N.

At the event, the company boasted that its new electric sports car marks “a pivotal milestone in Hyundai N’s electrification journey,” adding “Hyundai N is once again redefining the boundaries of high-performance electrification with the debut of the IONIQ 6 N.”

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The IONIQ 6 N delivers an impressive 641 horsepower (478 kW) and 77 Nm of torque, enabling a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint in just 3.2 seconds. Its top speed is about 160 mph (257 km/h).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

That’s when using Hyundai’s Launch Control, one of the many performance features the new EV offers. Like its other N models, the IONIQ 6 is based on three pillars: Corner Rascal, Racetrack Capability, and, of course, an Everyday Sportscar.

Powered by two electric motors, a 223 hp (166 kW) at the front and another 378 hp (282 kW) motor at the rear, for a combined 600 hp (448 kW).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

Redefining the EV driving experience

The upgraded IONIQ 6 “redefines the EV driving experience,” according to Hyundai, thanks to its advanced in-house vehicle control software.

Central to this is Hyundai’s N Active Sound + system, which mimics the feel and sound of a traditional engine. An added N e-Shift simulates shifting gears.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N interior (Source: Hyundai)

And that’s just the start. Other performance features, such as N Drift Optimizer, N Grin Boost, and N Torque Distribution, give you even more control over the vehicle while delivering increased power.

The IONIQ 6 N is powered by an 84 kWh battery, providing a WLTP range of up to 291 miles (469 km). However, EPA figures will be revealed closer to launch. Given the IONIQ 5 N has an EPA-estimated range of up to 221 miles, you can expect it to be slightly higher when it arrives.

With a 350 kW DC fast charger, Hyundai’s new performance EV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes.

With a length of 4,935 mm, a width of 1,940 mm, and a height of 1,495 mm, the IONIQ 6 N is about the size of the Porsche Taycan.

Hyundai will showcase the new high-performance EV during the hillclimb event alongside other models like the IONIQ 5 N, IONIQ 6 N Drift Spec, and IONIQ 6 N with N Performance parts. Hyundai promises each vehicle brings unique capabilities to the event, “guaranteeing a dynamic and thrilling on-track experience for all attendees.” Check back soon for more info.

What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric sports car? Would you buy one over the Porsche Taycan? Let us know in the comments.

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

Elon Musk said that Tesla owners will “soon” have access to Grok, a large language developed by Musk’s xAI startup, days after the AI started calling itself ‘MechaHitler’.

Yesterday, xAI launched Grok 4, the latest version of its large language model.

The new model is benchmarking very well, but that’s generally the case with the latest model to come out. It edges the latest models from Google and OpenAI on intelligence by a few points, but it falls behind on speed:

At the launch event, Musk announced that Grok will “soon” be integrated into Tesla vehicles.

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This is something that the CEO has been discussing since founding xAI, which has been controversial because Musk has also positioned Tesla to compete in the AI space. He even stepped down from his role at OpenAI due to a “conflict of interest with Tesla.”

The announcement of the imminent integration of Grok into Tesla vehicles comes just days after the language model went haywire on X and started praising Hitler, referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’, and made several antisemitic comments.

xAI acknowledge the issue and put Grok on timeout while they fixed it:

We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

The “bug” came just a few weeks after Musk stated that he was displeased with Grok supporting left-wing narratives, even though it didn’t say anything inncurate, and that he would update Grok to “fix” it.

Now, the large language model (LLM) is expected to power the new voice assistant inside Tesla vehicles.

LLMs are becoming quite common in cars, especially premium vehicles. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and a few others have all integrated Chat-GPT in some models.

Many Chinese automakers have also developed their own and deployed them in cars, even entry-level ones.

Tesla is playing catch up on that front.

Electrek’s Take

As I have previously stated, I think Musk is setting up Tesla to invest or even merge with xAI at a ridiculous valuation – making Tesla shareholders virtually pay twice for Twitter, which is now part of xAI.

This is how he will be able to gain wider control over the company’s share.

Of course, it will be widely challenged in court. In fact, shareholders have already filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk was in breach of fiduciary duties to Tesla shareholders when he started xAI.

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Alaska is America’s worst state for business in 2025 as falling oil prices sink economy

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Alaska is America's worst state for business in 2025 as falling oil prices sink economy

Pipeline Winding in Summer Mountain Landscape

Sarkophoto | Istock | Getty Images

From the first discovery in Prudhoe Bay in 1968, Alaskans have had a love-hate relationship with oil.

On one hand, it allowed Alaska to abolish its state income tax, fund most government operations and provide every Alaskan with a dividend that continues to this day. On the other hand, it has left the state at the near total mercy of the global oil market.

In recent years, that has proven to be a bad bet. And it is the major reason Alaska finishes at the bottom of the CNBC America’s Top States for Business rankings in 2025.

With the price of Alaska North Slope crude oil down by double digits from a year ago, according to the Alaska Department of Revenue, Alaska has America’s worst economy as measured by the CNBC study. Economy is the heaviest-weighted category under this year’s methodology.

More coverage of the 2025 America’s Top States for Business

Alaska’s gross domestic product growth is in the bottom ten nationally. The state’s economy grew by just 1.5% last year, compared to 2.8% nationally.

More crucially, the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget is based on a forecast of $68 per barrel for crude oil, and it is unclear if that will hold. Alaska North Slope crude traded as low as $63.49 on May 5 before rebounding above $70 in recent weeks. State forecasters are counting on oil for around 70% of the state’s revenue over the next ten years, or nearly half the state’s operating budget. And some localities are far more dependent.

“When you look at the economic engine by default,” North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak told CNBC last month, “That happens to be oil and gas by about 98% of our operating budget.”

$40 billion bet on natural gas as diversifier

For decades, Alaska has sought ways to diversify its economy, but it has had limited success. Proposals have involved alternative energy, agriculture, and the state’s tourism sector.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during a news conference at his office in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 22, 2022.

Yereth Rosen | Reuters

In 2023, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, signed legislation to put Alaska into the carbon market, using the state’s vast public lands for carbon storage, and to generate carbon offset credits for high carbon emitters in other states. But the program is still in the study phase. A report to the legislature in January said the program is not expected to generate any revenue until at least 2027.

More recently, the Trump administration is backing a proposal to build a natural gas pipeline alongside the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline, allowing the U.S. to ship liquid natural gas — a byproduct of North Slope oil production — to Asia.

North Carolina becomes America's Top State for Business

The idea has been around for years, but the price tag, estimated at around $40 billion, was impossible for the industry to swallow even when petroleum prices were high.

Now, however, administration officials think that trade tensions might change the economics.

“There [are] countries around the world looking to shrink their trade deficit with the United States, and of course, a very easy way to do that is to buy more American energy,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Prudhoe Bay last month.

“If you get the commercial offtakers for the gas, financing is pretty straightforward,” Wright said.

If the project gets off the ground, it could provide a huge boost to Alaska’s economy, though it would still be at the mercy of commodity prices.

Lack of tech infrastructure, high costs

Alaska’s struggling economy is a major reason for its poor competitive performance, but it is not the only one.

The state ranks No. 49 in Infrastructure. While the state’s roads and bridges are in better shape than in many states in the Lower 48, its virtual infrastructure leaves much to be desired. Fewer than 2% of Alaskans have access to affordable broadband service, according to BroadbandNow Research. The data center boom has passed Alaska by thus far, with only four in the entire state.

Alaska is a notoriously expensive place to live, especially in the many remote parts of the state.

“When you’re paying 16 bucks a gallon for milk, we’ve got to figure out how to make sure that you can afford to buy the milk so you can live here. We’ve got to make sure you can afford to buy the gas so you can hunt here,” said Patkotak.

But one aspect of life is a bargain in Alaska. At a time of soaring homeowner premiums, online insurance marketplace Insurify projects Alaska homeowners insurance premiums will average $1,543 this year, the second lowest in the nation.

Join the conversation. Didn’t see your state mentioned? You can see where it ranked overall, and in all 10 categories of competitiveness, in the full rankings of the 2025 America’s Top States for Business.

Top States for Business: Here are the runners-up

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