Ford Will Gain Access to Tesla Superchargers: What Does This Mean for EVs?
Electric vehicle adoption is finally gaining momentum, and most automakers have pledged to sell at least 50% of electric vehicles by the end of this decade. However, one of the problems that have surfaced with EVs is not that they’re slow, boring, or expensive—but that they have to rely on often unreliable charging networks.The only charging solution that can really be relied upon is the Tesla Supercharger network, but its problem is that it’s almost exclusively available to Tesla owners. However, things are about to change now that Ford EVs will soon access to the Supercharger network.What does it mean for the EV industry? Let’s dig deeper.
Tesla Used to Keep Its Chargers to Itself
In an unexpected turn of events, Ford announced that its EVs will access Tesla Superchargers in North America by 2024. The Ford EVs will be equipped with an adapter and the software will be upgraded to gain access to Level 3 Tesla chargers across North America. Beyond that, the next generation of F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E models that will be released in 2025 will have the same charging connectors used in Tesla vehicles.
Ford also announced that its EV customers won’t need the Tesla app to accessthe Tesla Supercharger network, but the payment will be processed through the Ford Pro Intelligence or FordPass app. Tesla has never granted another manufacturer’s vehicles complete access to its proprietary charging infrastructure, but this deal with Ford could be a sign that it might be about to change across the industry.
What Does the Ford-Tesla Partnership Mean for EVs?
This is not the first time Tesla has opened its Superchargers to be accessed by non-Tesla EVs. However, whenTesla opened its Superchargers to everyonein 2022, access was limited to 7,500 Tesla chargers with CCS (Combined Charging System) adapters. It’s also more expensive to charge your non-Tesla EV at a Supercharger than a Tesla, and you have to gain access via the Tesla app.
However, Ford EVs will have access to over 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. and Canada using Tesla’s proprietary North America Charging Standard (NACS) connector. This is a better deal considering that NACS has proven to be superior and more reliable than CCS connectors.
To put it into perspective, Tesla’s charging plug is more compact and lighter since it uses a single pin for both DC and AC charging connections, while the CCS connector in North America comes with two pins for DC and AC charging. That aside, Tesla’s NACS delivers power more efficiently than CCS connectors.
But what really makes Tesla and Ford’s partnership bound to shake up the EV industry is the fact that Ford is the second best-selling EV brand in North America after Tesla. In addition to that, Tesla owns 60% of all fast chargers in the U.S. and with Ford coming in, it’s planning to double its Supercharger network.
In fact,Teslareleased the technical specs and design of its North America Charging Standard in 2022 and encouraged other automakers to use it. With Ford taking up the offer, other automakers could follow suit. Solar electric vehicle startup Aptera also announced that it would like to use NACS in its upcoming three-wheeler EV.
EV Automakers and Their Charging Partners
It’s not just Tesla that’s building its charging network—other brands like Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Volkswagen are planning to develop their own charging network. Even Ford has the BlueOval Charge Network.
However, most automakers with EVs equipped with CCS connectors have partnerships with charging service providers to offer discounts. Here is a list of some ofthe largest EV charging networksand their automaker partners:
ChargePoint
Electrify America
Tesla’s Charging Connector Could Overthrow CCS in America
Now that Ford will use Tesla’s NACS by 2024, it could come out on top ahead of the CCS connector to become the universal EV plug in North America—that’s if other automakers partner with Tesla, like Ford has.
In Europe, you don’t have to worry about finding the right adapter every time you visit a charging station. If it can be done in Europe, it can be done in North America. The big question is, which connector will become the universal standard in North America by the end of this decade: Tesla’s NACS or CCS?
The connectors needed to hook an electric vehicle to a charging station vary by region, as do some charging standards.
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