Halfway Home, Charging Standard Light Speed, Costco’s Cheers and Jeers w/ Todd Caputo

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FRIIIIDAAAYYY CLOSE! As we wrap up the first half of 2023 we’re looking back as we talk about the next round of EV standard moves. We also talk about the retail level reception of Costco’s latest crackdown on sharing memberships. 

• As the mass adoption of Tesla’s NACS charging standard has been dominating the news, the transition isn’t quite as simple as you may think.
  •  Yesterday EV maker Polestar and EV motorcycle maker Verge Motorcycles announce a shift to the Tesla standard
  • Electrify America, the largest competitor to Tesla's Supercharger network, which is majority owned by VW announced they will be adding Tesla’s NACS standard to all of their almost 3,500 fast chargers by 2025 in addition to continuing to offer the current CCS standard
  • Challenges include: Onboard software development, hardware design, incompatibility with current charging systems, charge port position, differences in charging speed, use of adapters, manufacturing modifications
    • Tesla chargers don’t have a screen and have a seamless handshake
    • All Tesla charge ports are on the left rear
    • Pins in the harnesses serve different purposes
  • Tesla said in a statement: "It's always been our ambition to open the Supercharger network to non-Tesla EVs, and by doing so, encourage more drivers to go electric. More customers using the Supercharger network enables faster expansion. Our goal is to learn and iterate quickly, while continuing to aggressively expand the network, so we can eventually welcome both Tesla and non-Tesla drivers at every Supercharger worldwide."
    
    
    
• Costco has intensified the enforcement of its membership policy, with employees frequently asking to see shoppers' membership IDs with their photo at the self-checkout lanes drawing both cheers and jeers
  • The company noticed an increase in card sharing when they introduced self checkout lanes last year
  • Costco makes the majority of it’s profits from membership fees
  • Chief financial officer Richard Galanti said during Costco's May 25 earnings call that at “some point we will” raise rates and cited inflation as a reason for waiting. “Our view right now is that we've got enough levers out there to drive business and we feel that it's incumbent upon us to be that beacon of light to our members in terms of holding them for right now,” Galanti said.
  • "I pay extra to shop somewhere to get the good prices," said Lisa Ladonski, another Illinois shopper. "It’s not fair for multiple people to use one membership because let’s say they all want to buy the same thing I do, they get to it and buy it and now I can’t get what I need because they’re taking advantage

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