It is an image that will make history. Indeed, on the Ford manufacturer’s Twitter account is displayed the photo of an F150 Lightning, the brand’s electric pickup with the blue oval, posted in front of a Tesla Supercharger. It is neither a photomontage nor a provocation as has been the case with other manufacturers wishing to titillate Tesla and its network.
It’s official, Tesla will, from the beginning of next year, open access to its network of Superchargers to owners of Ford electric vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley jointly announced the news.
As a result, to the 10,000 fast chargers of Ford’s BlueOval Charge Network already in existence, are now added the 12,000 Superchargers distributed in the United States and Canada. Remember that the opening of Tesla Superchargers to competition has already been effective since last year in Europe.
In order to allow connection to its terminals equipped with a proprietary socket, Tesla will develop a specific adapter, also compatible with the new V3 Superchargers. This will be given to owners of Ford electric vehicles. In addition, Jim Farley announced that the next Ford platform will be equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS), the standardized version of Tesla’s proprietary charging system. This will make it possible to do without the adapter in question.
This opening to Tesla Superchargers is “great news for our customers“, said Jim Farley, before pointing out that “widespread access to fast charging is absolutely vital to our growth as an EV brand“. Moreover, it is the superior reliability of the network of Tesla chargers in the face of competition that prompted Ford to want to collaborate with the firm of Elon Musk.
It remains to be seen whether other manufacturers in the United States will natively equip their electric vehicles with a NACS port. Moreover, Tesla Superchargers incorporate a device called Magic Dock capable of accepting a CCS adapter, the most common fast charging standard on EVs.
On the other hand, Ford and Tesla have joined the National Charging Experience Consortium, which brings together car manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and laboratories. The goal is to improve the reliability of charging networks in the United States.
