While running independent charge tests on a Rivian R2, State of Charge host Tom Moloughney hit a problem worth flagging: a DC pin on one of his adapters melted mid session. He traces it to amperage. Rivian kept the R2 on a 400 volt architecture to hold down cost, he explains, and to charge quickly it pushes current instead of voltage, drawing north of 600 amps. Moloughney says Rivian told him the R2 can accept up to 630 amps, and he believes it may briefly reach 650. The adapter that failed was an older Tesla branded CCS1 to NACS unit he bought a few years ago. It finished the session, but the pin melted, and he uses the incident to warn other owners about older and uncertified adapters.

This is a side effect of an industry wide shift. Over the past two years most US automakers agreed to adopt Tesla's connector, now standardized as NACS, which is why so many drivers ended up needing adapters to bridge older CCS1 hardware and newer NACS ports in the first place. Early on, Moloughney notes, buyers rushed to get NACS to CCS1 adapters just to reach Tesla Superchargers, and quality varied widely. The safety piece lagged behind the connector. Moloughney points to UL2252, the adapter safety certification, and SAE J3400, the NACS standard, both of which are recent. His key buyer takeaway is a practical one the spec sheets do not surface: an adapter that shipped before those standards existed, even one handed out by an automaker, may not be rated for the current the newest EVs and chargers can now push. He suggests that anything received before 2026 has a good chance of falling short of the current standards. That is a real consideration for anyone charging a high amperage car on mixed public hardware.

Moloughney says most EVs in America cannot pull over 600 amps, though some Volvo, Polestar and BMW models can for short periods, and Tesla vehicles can too. The difference, he argues, is that Tesla owners mostly charge on Tesla's own hardware, which was designed end to end. He explains he needed the adapter at all because the specific Walmart charger he used could only deliver full amperage on its CCS1 side, not its NACS side. In his testing, a Lectron adapter throttled its charging rate when it got warm, which he presents as the safe behavior, while the older Tesla unit kept accepting power until it melted. He reports statements from Lectron and from A2Z EV describing thermal monitoring and automatic foldback in their certified adapters, including an A2Z bench test he cites of a sustained 600 amp load running over two hours with the surface staying under about 53C. He also runs through the network rules, saying EVgo, Ionna, Electrify America and Tesla each require certified or manufacturer supplied adapters, while Walmart, where his incident happened, had no stated policy when he asked. He recommends using the adapter supplied by your automaker or a UL2252 certified unit, notes that Rivian provides one free to buyers in the CARB states, and cautions against the cheapest listings, since a fused adapter could mean an expensive repair.

Bottom line: If you drive a high amperage EV, this is the rare charging video that is actually worth acting on. The takeaway is simple: check whether your adapter is UL2252 certified, and be suspicious of anything more than a year or two old, even if an automaker gave it to you. Moloughney's framing is fair. He is careful to say the failure was an older unit, not that any one brand is unsafe today. Spend the extra money on a certified adapter. Against the cost of a damaged charge port, it is the cheapest insurance in your garage.

Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.