Tesla and Ford made the announcement today that many Tesla owners have been dreading. in a twitter space talkTesla CEO Elon Musk and his counterpart Jim Farley said that starting next spring all current and future Ford electric vehicles will have access to about 12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations in North America.
The move helps Tesla qualify for a share of billions of federal dollars to improve the charging experience for electric vehicles in the US, and will make life easier for Ford EV owners. For Tesla customers, however, it could mean longer wait times at charging stations – even as many have already complained of overcrowding at them.
John Sargent, a Tesla owner in Seattle, said, “That’s the one thing that worries me—could it add to congestion”. wall street journal in February. He said that despite taking the coveted spot without a non-Tesla, “they really need to put more Superchargers.”
Not that Musk hasn’t indicated that day will come. He hinted a few years ago that his carmaker would eventually open its network to others. Then in February, White announced a set of actions aimed at “creating a convenient, reliable and made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) charging network as part of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to electrify the great American road trip.” Law’s $7.5 billion investment in EV charging.
The White House said Tesla will for the first time “open a portion of its US Supercharger and destination charger network to non-Tesla EVs, making at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024.”
Tesla customers waiting for Ford to charge
Musk reiterated today that he didn’t want Tesla charging stations to be a “walled garden,” adding, “We want to do everything we can to support Ford and put Ford on the same level as Tesla Superchargers.” Are.”
There’s no doubt that Tesla owners sometimes have to wait for Ford customers to charge their vehicles in front of them – something they’re not accustomed to.
Ford’s current vehicles will require an adapter at Tesla stations, but its second generation in 2025 will use Tesla’s North American charging standard connector.
Last November, Tesla said it would share its EV connector design with other car makers, writing on its blog: “We invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to deploy Tesla charging connectors and charge ports , now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), on their equipment and vehicles.
Speaking to Musk today, Ford’s Farley had much to say about Tesla’s charging stations: “It’s a really big deal for our customers … We love the locations, we love the reliability. .. What you and your team have done for the customers is so amazing.”
Tesla customers now using those stations, obviously, have less to get excited about.
