Ford reached an agreement with Tesla Motors to provide EV owners access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the United States and Canada. This will double the number of fast chargers available to Ford customers starting next year.
Gaining Access to Tesla Superchargers
(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: A view of Tesla Superchargers on February 15, 2023 in San Rafael, California. Electric car company Tesla is partnering with the U.S. federal government to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States.
Rivals Ford and Tesla announced a partnership, offering their services to one another. According to the announcement posted in Ford Media Center, EV owners will have access to 12,000 Superchargers across the United States and Canada. The partnership makes Ford the first major automaker to embrace Tesla's charging standard.
Ford will broaden its access by gaining additional chargers available, especially since Tesla is considered the biggest network of high-speed Superchargers in the country. The surprising partnership was announced on Twitter Spaces by Chief Executive Officers Elon Musk (Tesla) and Jim Farley (Ford) that lasted about a half hour and came off without technical difficulties.
Musk expressed his delight with this partnership as it not only provides Superchargers but also provides API access. "So like a Ford vehicle can charge at a Tesla supercharger using a Ford app seamlessly. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transport in general," he added.
Farley stated that what he loves about this partnership is the accessibility, given that there are a lot of Superchargers in the country, and reliability with the company's routing software and ease of use of the connector. He added that partnering with Tesla opens a lot of doors for the company as they are learning a lot.
Superchargers via an Adapter
Both of the companies' agreement reaches far beyond providing access to Superchargers via an adapter. Following this partnership, TechCrunch reported that electric vehicles of Ford will be equipped with Tesla's charge port called North American Charging Standard (NACS) starting in 2025.
Customers who own Ford second-generation EVs with NACS ports will be given an option of chagrin at CCS chargers via an adapter. Ford also stated that this will be affordable and will offer different kinds of payment options (like subscriptions). Musk teased its fans during the announcement that the adapter will range from hundreds of dollars.
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Reuters reported that both CEOs already hinted at this partnership in their previous interviews and talks. During a Morgan Stanley Forum last Thursday, Farley thinks there is room for some collaboration between the two companies on the infrastructure side, despite it being totally unnatural for them to know that Tesla and Ford are rivals.
Meanwhile, Musk tweeted earlier this month that he thinks Ford's overall strategy with EVs is smart, knowing that the electric F-150 Lightning has high demand in the market. When it comes to the losses of the company, he defended Ford by saying, "Always tough with margins for new vehicle lines, especially when there are major technology shifts."
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