- Ford announced late this afternoon that it is teaming with Tesla to help expand the electric-vehicle charging infrastructure for U.S. customers.
- Now owners of Ford EVs including the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning (pictured above, with CEO Jim Farley) can use 12,000-plus Tesla Supercharger fast-chargers for their vehicles.
- Ford will also provide built-in connectors as standard on its EVs starting in 2025, meaning Ford EV owners won’t need a special adapter to be able to use the Superchargers.
In a late-day announcement on Thursday, May 25, Ford said it has cemented an agreement that will give Ford EV owners access to the Tesla Supercharger network starting in the spring of 2024.
In the announcement, Ford president and CEO Jim Farley said this will more than double the number of fast-chargers in the U.S. and Canada for owners of Ford EVs including the Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit, and F-150 Lightning pickup. Currently they have about 10,000 fast-chargers available through Ford’s BlueOval Charge Network, and more than 12,000 Superchargers will be added under the agreement.
In what is almost as surprising a development, Ford said its EVs will also get an adapter to allow them to use the Superchargers. Starting in 2025, a connector developed by Tesla will be built into new Ford EVs, the company said. The Tesla North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector on Ford EVs fitted with a Combined Charging System (CCS) port will allow the vehicles to be used with Tesla V3 Superchargers. A Ford spokesperson called this connector “smaller and lighter” to provide “a superior experience for customers.”
Digital Director
Laura Sky Brown has been involved in automotive media for a very long time, and she sees it as her calling to guard the legacy and help ensure the continued high quality of Car and Driver. She was one of the first staffers at Automobile Magazine in the ’80s and has worked for many other car magazines and websites as a writer, editor, and copy editor ever since. It has been her privilege to edit many of the greats of automotive journalism over the years, including the ones who currently write for C/D.