Ford will integrate Tesla’s charging technology into its future electric vehicles

Ford has struck a deal with rival Tesla that will give owners of Ford electric vehicles access to more than 12,000 Superchargers in the United States and Canada.

However, this deal goes far beyond access to Tesla’s superchargers via an adapter. Ford said its next generations of electric vehicles will feature Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging port starting in 2025. Ford’s second-generation electric vehicle portfolio includes an electric truck and a three-wheel-drive SUV. rows. The surprising deal was announced Thursday during a Twitter Spaces between Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley.

According to Ford, second-generation Ford electric vehicles with the NACS port will have the ability to charge on CCS chargers via an adapter. The automaker said the adapter would be affordable, and Farley noted that Ford will offer different types of payment options, such as subscriptions. Musk said the adapter would be “in the hundreds-of-dollar range.”

“We are very happy to support Ford vehicles with the Tesla Supercharger Network, and also provide API access,” Musk said Thursday. “So a Ford vehicle can seamlessly charge to a Tesla compressor using a Ford app. Essentially, the idea is that we don’t want the Tesla Supercharger network to look like a walled garden. We want it to be something that supports electrification and sustainable transportation in general. »

The charging connector of all Tesla vehicles offers AC charging and DC charging up to 1MW. Its compact design and performance are considered superior to the Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors used by most electric vehicles in North America. Last year, Tesla shared its EV charging connector design in a bid to encourage network operators and automakers to embrace the technology and make it the new normal in North America.

Existing Ford EV customers will use an adapter developed by Tesla so that their Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles equipped with the Combo Charging System port can access Tesla’s V3 superchargers.

Ford customers will have access to twice as many fast chargers from spring 2024 thanks to the agreement with Tesla, according to the automakers.

During Twitter Spaces, Farley praised the location of Tesla’s superchargers, the reliability of routing software, and the ease of use of Tesla’s connector.

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 dealerships will add approximately 1,800 fast chargers and public locations to the BlueOval charging network by early 2024.