Today, Ford announced via Twitter Space between Jim Farley and Elon Musk, along with a press release, that Ford customers will have access to Tesla’s extensive Supercharging network in the US.
Existing Ford EVs owners will use an adapter to charge at Tesla’s chargers, while their 2nd Gen EVs, will shift to Tesla’s proposed EV charging standard, North American Charging Standard (NACS).
During the Twitter Space, Farley confirmed they’ll offer a range of payment options, including subscriptions.
Tesla owners are likely to question this move, considering some charging locations are already busy with just Tesla ownership. There’s no doubt that adding Ford EVs (and potentially others), means that Tesla will need to accelerate Supercharger rollouts and the income made from Ford EV customers should help fund that acceleration.
Ford’s agreement with Tesla Motors will provide Ford electric vehicle customers access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada, doubling the number of fast-chargers available to Ford EV customers starting Spring 2024.
“This is great news for our customers who will have unprecedented access to the largest network of fast-chargers in the U.S. and Canada with 12,000+ Tesla Superchargers plus 10,000+ fast-chargers already in the BlueOval Charge Network.
Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO.
Widespread access to fast-charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand, and this breakthrough agreement comes as we are ramping up production of our popular Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, and preparing to launch a series of next-generation EVs starting in 2025.”
“We’ve spent the last 10 years building an industry-leading Charging Network that enables freedom to travel and provides charging confidence for our Tesla owners.
Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure:
We’re excited to deliver on our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by welcoming Ford owners, and other electric vehicles who adopt NACS, to our thousands of Superchargers across North America.”
A Tesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging System (CCS) port access to Tesla’s V3 Superchargers. Ford will equip future EVs with the NACS charge port, removing the need for an adapter for direct access to Tesla Superchargers, starting in 2025.
Tesla has led the industry in creating a large, reliable and efficient charging system and we are pleased to be able to join forces in a way that benefits customers and overall EV adoption.
Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer, Ford Model e.
The Tesla Supercharger network has excellent reliability and the NACS plug is smaller and lighter. Overall, this provides a superior experience for customers.
The BlueOval Charge Network is already North America’s largest public charging network with over 84,000 chargers including access to over 10,000 public DC fast-chargers. Adding more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers creates the single largest integrated fast-charge network across the U.S. and Canada, designed to significantly reduce charge anxiety for Ford customers, with automatic routing to the nearest charger and seamless billing via FordPass.
Additionally, Ford dealers are adding roughly 1,800 public-facing fast-chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge Network by early 2024.
