Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ford electric vehicle owners can now charge on Tesla's network, but they'll need an adapter first

Owners of Ford electric vehicles can now use much of Tesla’s charging network in the U.S. and Canada, but there’s a hitch

Via AP news wire
Thursday 29 February 2024 13:05 GMT
Ford Tesla Chargers
Ford Tesla Chargers (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Owners of Ford electric vehicles can now use much of Tesla's charging network in the U.S. and Canada, but there's a hitch.

They'll need to get an adapter that Ford will provide for free, although the company won't start shipping those until the end of March.

Last May, Ford became the first automaker to reach an agreement with the Austin, Texas-based Tesla to charge on its network, which is the largest and most well-placed in the U.S.

Tesla has more than 26,000 plugs and nearly 2,400 Supercharger stations across the U.S. and Canada. Ford said its owners will have access to about 15,000 Tesla fast-charging plugs that are located strategically along travel corridors. Ford owners won't be able to use some older Tesla plugs.

Most other automakers followed Ford in joining Tesla's network and agreeing to switch to Tesla's plug, called the North American Charging Standard, which is smaller and easier to use than the current plugs on most other EVs sold in the two countries.

Ford said adding the Tesla plugs will double the size of the network that can be used by Ford EV owners. There are nearly 166,000 Ford EVs in the U.S.

Ken Williams, director of charging and energy services, said a top concern of its EV owners is charging, even though they charge 80% of the time at home.

“We wanted to make sure we are meeting that need,” he said.

Ford is offering the adapters for free to the owners, who can sign up on the Ford.com website to reserve them between Thursday and June 30. The company will provide one free adapter per vehicle.

Tesla's network was turned on Wednesday morning, and software enabling the Ford vehicles to charge at Tesla stations was to be sent out around the same time.

Ford will switch to Tesla’s charging connector with its second-generation EVs starting next year.

Customers will pay Tesla for the electricity, and Williams said they can find out the price at Ford's mobile app and on public charging apps on vehicle touch screens.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in