Ford has reached a deal with rival Tesla that will give owners of Ford’s EVs access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the US and Canada. The deal was announced during a Twitter space between Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley.
However, the agreement reaches far beyond providing access to Tesla’s Superchargers via an adapter, although the Tesla-developed adapter will allow Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles to be equipped with Tesla’s V3 Superchargers combined. The charging system will provide with port access. ,
More importantly, Ford said its future EVs will be equipped with Tesla’s charge ports, called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), starting in 2025. This suggests that Ford’s second-generation EV, which is currently an electric truck and a three-row SUV, will be equipped with Tesla charging technology.
According to Ford, Ford second-generation EVs with NACS ports will have the option of charging on a CCS charger via an adapter.
“We are very pleased to support Ford vehicles Tesla Supercharger with the network, and also provides API access,” Musk said on Thursday. “So like a Ford vehicle can be charged seamlessly using a Ford app on a Tesla Supercharger. Essentially, the idea is that we don’t want the Tesla Supercharger network to be like a walled garden. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transportation in general.
The charging connector in all Tesla vehicles provides AC charging and up to 1 MW of DC charging. Its compact design and performance are believed to be superior to the Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors used by most EVs in North America. Last year, Tesla shared its EV charging connector design in an effort to encourage network operators and automakers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard in North America.
Ford customers will have access to multiple fast-chargers starting in the spring of 2024 through the agreement with Tesla, according to the automakers.
Ford customers already have access to its so-called BlueOval Charge Network, a public charging network with more than 84,000 chargers, including access to more than 10,000 public DC fast-chargers. Additionally, Ford dealers are adding approximately 1,800 public-facing fast-chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge network by early 2024.
