Ford will bring Tesla’s charging technology to its future electric vehicles

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Ford has struck a deal with rival Tesla that will give Ford EV owners access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the US and Canada.

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

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

“We are very happy to support Ford vehicles with the Tesla Supercharger network, and also provides API access,” Musk said Thursday. “So as a Ford vehicle it can be charged on a Tesla supercharger using a Ford app with no problem. Basically 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 supports electrification and sustainable transportation in general.”

The charging connector on all Tesla vehicles offers AC charging and DC charging up to 1 MW. 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 his EV charging connector design in an effort to encourage network operators and auto manufacturers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard 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 Combined Charging System port can access Tesla V3 Superchargers.

Ford customers will have access to twice as many fast chargers starting in spring 2024 through the deal with Tesla, according to the automakers.

During Twitter spots, Farley praised the location of Tesla’s superchargers, the reliability of the routing software, and the ease of use of the Tesla 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. In addition, Ford dealers will add approximately 1,800 fast-charging points and public locations to the BlueOval charging network by early 2024.