Ford News: Ford EVs Gain Access to Tesla SuperChargers, Ford to Adopt Tesla NACS Charge Port

[Drew Dowdell]

Ford and Tesla jointly announced today that starting in the spring of 2024, Ford EV drivers will gain access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America.  This move will more than double the number of chargers available to Ford EV drivers who currently have access to 10,000  DC fast-chargers in the BlueOval EV network.  Additionally, Ford dealers are adding 1,800 public-facing fast chargers across the continent.

Existing EV models like the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, and E-Transit Vans will be able to use a Tesla developed adaptor to convert from the Tesla NACS Charger to the built-in CCS charge port, allowing access to Tesla V3 Superchargers.

Moving forward, Ford will change from the CCS standard to the Tesla NACS standard on all EV models starting in 2025.  The addition of Tesla SuperChargers to the BlueOval Charge Network creates the largest integrated network of fast-charger in North America.

Ford cites Tesla's charge network reliability and the smaller form factor of the NACS plug as reasons for the switch.

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[ccap41]

Well this is pretty interesting. We've all heard how much better Tesla's charging network is than the rest of what's out there. 

So, this means, starting in 2025, Fords will not be able to use the rest of the world's crappy chargers, right? They'll only be able to use Tesla's network? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing but kind of an odd thing.

Edited Friday at 01:40 PM by ccap41

[smk4565]

Ford could offer an adapter for CCS chargers I assume.

I imagine that eventually Tesla will open the charge network for every EV once it is big enough, for a price of course.  Tesla could have more charge stations than Exxon or Shell have gas stations and rake in money.

[David]

FORD is WRONG, NACS is too little too late and there network while being big is not all that great.

Tesla sucks, Ford has now joined the SUCKS squad. Let them both die and go away.

If Tesla wanted to be a true leader, then they should have given NACS to the world way before the CCS standard was developed.

[ccap41]

On 5/26/2023 at 9:44 PM, David said:

FORD is WRONG, NACS is too little too late and there network while being big is not all that great.

Tesla sucks, Ford has now joined the SUCKS squad. Let them both die and go away.

If Tesla wanted to be a true leader, then they should have given NACS to the world way before the CCS standard was developed.

Tesla's system is "not that great"? What review have you read that ANY non-Tesla charging has been anywhere near as convenient and simple as Tesla's? 

Literally every EV review I've read has praised Tesla's charging network while saying public CCS fast charging is a complete crap-shoot. 

[Drew Dowdell]

On 5/26/2023 at 5:57 PM, smk4565 said:

Ford could offer an adapter for CCS chargers I assume.

I imagine that eventually Tesla will open the charge network for every EV once it is big enough, for a price of course.  Tesla could have more charge stations than Exxon or Shell have gas stations and rake in money.

There is mixed news out there.  The latest I've heard is that Ford will offer both ports on their cars.

[Drew Dowdell]

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Tesla's system is "not that great"? What review have you read that ANY non-Tesla charging has been anywhere near as convenient and simple as Tesla's? 

Literally every EV review I've read has praised Tesla's charging network while saying public CCS fast charging is a complete crap-shoot. 

The Tesla system does have some limitations that CCS doesn't.  Tesla charge ports are not currently bi-directional, meaning you can't do V2V or V2G with them like you can with CCS. CCS and Tesla both have 1000v spec though neither are building it that way yet.  CCS can get faster charge rates today in theory and with the right conditions than Tesla because it is currently capable of 920v. Still, only Porsche and GM-Ultium is capable of accepting anything close to that high (800v).   A Tesla Supercharger runs at 480v, but they have one V4/1000v charger built in Europe, and it is throttled down since there aren't any Tesla models that can accept the power.  Cybertruck and the Semi will be the first Teslas capable of V4 charging. 

The interesting thing about the Ford announcement is that none of the current Ford products can utilize the speed the Tesla Superchargers can provide.

Now, I'm not defending what @David said, because I think he's wrong.  I might need to add this reaction  to the list for him.

On 5/26/2023 at 9:40 AM, ccap41 said:

Well this is pretty interesting. We've all heard how much better Tesla's charging network is than the rest of what's out there. 

So, this means, starting in 2025, Fords will not be able to use the rest of the world's crappy chargers, right? They'll only be able to use Tesla's network? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing but kind of an odd thing.

There are adapters in both directions.  Teslas can fill up anywhere... and starting next year, so can Fords.  All the other EVs can fill up everywhere except Tesla stations. The current Ford EVs will still be able to use the CCS networks. They won't move to the Tesla charger right away... possibly until their next major redesign.

[ccap41]

39 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The Tesla system does have some limitations that CCS doesn't.  Tesla charge ports are not currently bi-directional, meaning you can't do V2V or V2G with them like you can with CCS. CCS and Tesla both have 1000v spec though neither are building it that way yet.  CCS can get faster charge rates today in theory and with the right conditions than Tesla because it is currently capable of 920v. Still, only Porsche and GM-Ultium is capable of accepting anything close to that high (800v).   A Tesla Supercharger runs at 480v, but they have one V4/1000v charger built in Europe, and it is throttled down since there aren't any Tesla models that can accept the power.  Cybertruck and the Semi will be the first Teslas capable of V4 charging. 

The interesting thing about the Ford announcement is that none of the current Ford products can utilize the speed the Tesla Superchargers can provide.

Now, I'm not defending what @David said, because I think he's wrong.  I might need to add this reaction  to the list for him.

There are adapters in both directions.  Teslas can fill up anywhere... and starting next year, so can Fords.  All the other EVs can fill up everywhere except Tesla stations. The current Ford EVs will still be able to use the CCS networks. They won't move to the Tesla charger right away... possibly until their next major redesign.

I do think the missing capability of V2V and V2G  is a downside but they were quite specific to leave out some future details. i feel like come 2025, they may have that adaption and/or Fords may just come with both outlets to charge from. 

Also, what good does it do to be able to charge at 1000v chargers (if they became a thing down the road) if the network is always down and stopping charging mid-charge, and everything else that non-Tesla public chargers do?

57 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

There is mixed news out there.  The latest I've heard is that Ford will offer both ports on their cars.

That's the rumor I read as well. Obviously nothing has been finalized or made official but THAT would be a great idea. Literally, the best of both worlds.

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

I do think the missing capability of V2V and V2G  is a downside but they were quite specific to leave out some future details. i feel like come 2025, they may have that adaption and/or Fords may just come with both outlets to charge from. 

Also, what good does it do to be able to charge at 1000v chargers (if they became a thing down the road) if the network is always down and stopping charging mid-charge, and everything else that non-Tesla public chargers do?

Excellent points. I just want to point out that while all  charge networks have outages from time to time, the biggest offender by far seems to be Electrify America. EA is giving all EV chargers except Tesla a bad name.

Remember that EA exists only because of a consent order a judge imposed on VW for the diesel fiasco. They are in a scramble to build out the specified size network by their deadline. They aren’t making a profit and aren’t really concerned with customer service.