DEARBORN, MI – The Ford Motor Company and Tesla Motors reached an agreement today that will give Ford EV owners access to the Tesla Supercharger network by the spring of next year.
The move comes as a means to accelerate EV adoption and expand accessibility by enlarging the Blue Oval’s Charge Network. This will open the door for current customers of Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and the E-Transit to charge at an additional 12,000 charging locations operated by Tesla.
However, it seems that it isn’t as simple as Tesla introducing the Magic Dock at its Supercharger locations. Instead, Ford’s existing EV customers will have access to a dedicated CCS-to-NACS adapter designed by Tesla to be fully compatible with their Superchargers. Starting in 2025, Ford will replace the CCS port with a NACS port as standard equipment on its next-generation of EVs.
While Tesla announced back in November 2022 that it would open up the Supercharger network to other EVs and make NACS available to other OEMs, Ford appears to be the second automaker to take up the EV-leader on that offer; Aptera Motors announced last year that their upcoming EV will include the NACS port on their upcoming EV.
While this partnership expands access to charging, it also knocks some competitors down a peg, namely Electrify America, implying a lack of confidence in the national charging network.
However, the greater concern is whether this change in charging port standard will elevate to the level of causing another EV charging standard war.
Will it lead to other manufacturers also adapting the plug that Tesla uses? What are your thoughts?
Published in News
Excellent news! Here we have a “leader” in the EV industry setting a standard that is now, starting, to be adopted by a major auto manufacturer. NACS will apparently become the national standard. Admittedly, I know little regarding the differences and what the NACS standard offers that others do not. What I DO know is that since a major has picked up this standard the rest will fall in line. It instantly adds 12,000 charging points available to customers. Tesla has definitely done some things very right and NACS may be one of them.
It’s always difficult to start something new that has mass appeal. Especially in the auto industry (ask Tucker). Tesla has done the impossible. MANY companies have tried to go up against the majors and their massive funding only to fail because they cannot compete on such a large scale and in such a hostile environment (which the auto industry very much is and always has been. Very cutthroat to be able to deliver the lowest price possible for the consumers). Tesla went up against the Big Three and was on top for some time and is STILL going strong. While Tesla has issues, namely build quality, they still have the best product in the EV market, though that is now changing as the majors catch up. I SAID THIS WAS GOING TO GO THIS WAY ON DRIVETRIBE. Now that the majors have caught up and Tesla has a choice, allow others on their charging points or stubbornly keep it proprietary. Tesla decided to set the standard and not just allow others on their points but also allow them access to the OEM for the charging ports on their vehicles, for which Tesla will get a kick back on each one sold. BRILLIANT. Plus, now MORE cars will be using their charging points which does two things: first it legitimizes Tesla and EV use. Second, it’s money in Tesla’s pocket! Tesla took the right path here. Set the standard the entire world will use and make money from it. THAT’S business acumen. Utter brilliance.