A partnership between the two automakers, which was declared today, will soon make it simple for owners of electric Ford trucks and SUVs to access the more than 12,000 Tesla V3 Superchargers in the United States and Canada. A hardware adapter will be used to connect the Tesla Supercharger network to Ford’s BlueOval Charge network beginning in early 2024. Ford’s next-generation electric vehicles will include Tesla’s charging port built in 2025.
Ford’s aggregation of partnered EV charging providers is the BlueOval Charge network, which customers can search and access through their onboard route planning software, the FordPass mobile app, or any other method. Ford has access to over 10,000 DC fast charging stations on networks like Electrify America, EVgo, ChargePoint, and others. Soon, Tesla’s 12,000+ Supercharging points will join them.
A hardware adapter created by Tesla will allow motorists to connect to the V3 Superchargers. This adapter connects the North American Charging Standard (NACS) cable of Tesla to the Combined Charging System (CCS) port that is standard on the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit EVs. Charger activation and payment will then be dealt with by means of the FordPass app or Ford’s Pro Intelligence onboard EV software.
In addition to the well-known CCS connection, Ford’s second generation of electric vehicles will likely include built-in NACS charging ports beginning in 2025. Ford’s adoption of the open-source charging standard will take out the requirement for a connector to juice up at Tesla Supercharger stations.
On the one hand, it feels a little old-fashioned that the North American ecosystem for charging electric vehicles is still divided between the CCS and NACS standards. Now that the ChaDeMo standard is on the exit plan and with the European Union settling the CCS standard long ago, it appeared as though we were on target for a single port to lead them all. Given this perspective, Ford’s endorsement of dual charging systems may be viewed as a mistake that may cause new EV buyers to become confused.
Tesla, on the other hand, has arguably the most extensive, widespread, and, most importantly, dependable charging network in the United States. Since Tesla is also the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world, it can be argued that Tesla is winning the charging standard battle. Ford’s partnership with Tesla is a smart move, giving a major advantage to its clients for the small cost of a hardware adapter. Additionally, given NACS’s compact design, if new vehicle designs have room for both ports, why wouldn’t they? then offering both connections in the future feels like a win-win for customers and for Ford.
“The Tesla Supercharger network has excellent reliability and the NACS plug is smaller and lighter,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford’s Model E division. “Overall, this provides a superior experience for customers.”
Additionally, Tesla recently stated that by the end of 2024, it would open at least 3,500 of its Supercharger stations to all-electric vehicles.