Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers will be operational with Ford vehicles by early 2024. Farley also announced that the next generation of Ford vehicles will be equipped with North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports, Tesla’s standardized version of its proprietary charging system.
“We don’t want the Tesla Supercharger to be a walled garden,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a Twitter space call. According to Musk, Tesla wants Ford and other automakers to be on a level playing field when it comes to access to reliable EV charging.
“We don’t want the Tesla Supercharger to be a walled garden”
According to Ford, Tesla will develop an adapter that will be provided to customers who buy any of Ford’s EVs, including the F-150 Lightning truck, the Mustang Mach-E and the E-Transit delivery van. Like most EVs in North America, Ford’s EVs are compatible with EV chargers with CCS (Combined Charging System) plugs.
The adapter will allow Ford EVs to connect with Tesla’s Superchargers, including the Version 3 chargers that have just started rolling out. And Ford’s next-generation EV platform, which will land in 2025, will be compatible with Tesla’s North American charging standard port. Tesla announced it would open up its charging standard to other automakers last year — and now Ford is one of the first companies to take it up.
Ford will also continue to support its “BlueOval” charging network, which will develop 1,800 DC fast charging stations by early 2024.
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Earlier this year, Tesla’s Supercharger network, once exclusive to Elon Musk and only Elon Musk’s customers, began opening up to non-Tesla EVs. The company, which for months has been allowing other companies’ EVs to use its chargers in Europe, is now doing the same in the US — part of the Biden administration’s $7.5 billion plan to expand EV charging options to more Americans. As per the instructions given in the Billion Plan.
Tesla Superchargers in the US use a proprietary connector – this was Tesla’s “competitive moat”, providing protection from other automakers. To allow non-Tesla vehicles to access the chargers, the company installed a device called the “Magic Dock”, in which a CCS adapter is mounted on the connector. CCS is the accepted standard adopted by most EV manufacturers in North America for DC fast charging.
Tesla’s Supercharger network was once exclusive to Elon Musk and only Elon Musk’s customers
The conversation between the two automaker CEOs comes as EV competition continues to heat up. Tesla has enjoyed its dominance at the helm of the growing electric vehicle industry, but other manufacturers are finally bringing more variety and alternatives to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y. Tesla has slashed prices several times this year to boost sales, bringing the Model 3 sedan under $40,000.
The price cuts aren’t just happening at Tesla. Ford also slashed prices, and other manufacturers are drawing closer to an industry-wide EV price war.
Ford has some of the best-selling EVs (number two, to be exact), but it’s been plagued by manufacturing problems that include faulty batteries that can catch fire (that issue was addressed, but it put Lightning production on hold). stopped for a while). Production of the Mustang Mach-E was also halted for weeks as the company improved processes at the plant.
Ford restructured the company a year ago to operate separate businesses for its highly profitable gas vehicles, now called Ford Blue, and its electric efforts under the Ford Model E — that is, Tesla’s model. 3 (they also had to change the Model 3 logo in order not to infringe on Ford’s trademark).
Farley has praised Musk before, but he’s also thrown some punches. Once last year, Farley pointed out how the Ford F-150 Lightning was already being built and put on the road, while Tesla’s Cybertruck was nowhere in sight (and it still isn’t. ). “Take it, Elon Musk,” Farley said at the time.
Both Tesla and Ford have also joined the National Charging Experience Consortium, a collaborative effort that brings together national laboratories, EV equipment OEMs and automakers to improve charging infrastructure reliability.
