Tesla will allow Ford owners to access 12,000 of its Superchargers across the US and Canada, with the Blue Oval brand also moving to fit its future electric vehicles with a special charge port removing the need for an adapter.
The agreement was announced as part of a Twitter Spaces event featuring Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
A Tesla-developed adapter will allow F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit owners to access Tesla’s V3 Superchargers, with software integration along with activation and payment via FordPass or Ford Pro Intelligence.
From 2025, next-generation Ford EVs will be fitted with a North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port for direct access to the Superchargers.
Ford already has over 84,000 chargers including 10,000 fast-chargers in its BlueOval Charge Network in the US and Canada, and plans to add another 1800 fast-chargers at its dealers by early 2024.
The V3 Superchargers support DC charging at up to 250kW per car, with power not split between cars using the same unit.
“Tesla has led the industry in creating a large, reliable and efficient charging system and we are pleased to be able to join forces in a way that benefits customers and overall EV adoption,” said Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford Model e, the brand’s electric vehicle division.
“The Tesla Supercharger network has excellent reliability and the NACS plug is smaller and lighter. Overall, this provides a superior experience for customers.”
“We’ve spent the last 10 years building an industry-leading Charging Network that enables freedom to travel and provides charging confidence for our Tesla owners,” said Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of charging infrastructure.
“We’re excited to deliver on our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy by welcoming Ford owners, and other electric vehicles who adopt NACS, to our thousands of Superchargers across North America.”
Tesla’s Australian Supercharger network is almost entirely restricted to Tesla vehicles, though it recently opened five locations in New South Wales to vehicles from other brands.
The company’s CEO has praised Ford’s overall strategy with EVs, defending its rival’s financial performance in the early years of its EV rollout.
“Always tough with margins for new vehicle lines, especially when there are major technology shifts,” Mr Musk recently said on Twitter.
“I think Ford’s overall strategy with EVs is smart.”
The CEOs of Ford and Tesla are known for both praising and poking each other online.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has publicly praised Mr Musk before, congratulating him on winning TIME’s 2021 Person of the Year, but he has also poked him last year by saying “Take that Elon Musk” while celebrating the early success of the F-150 Lightning.
Likewise, Mr Musk congratulated Ford in 2021 on “embracing an electric future”, but teased the Blue Oval brand with a clip from the Chris Farley comedy Tommy Boy in response to a perceived jab at Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta system.
