Ford and Tesla Become One
Ford made an exciting announcement regarding its E.V.s. Starting in 2025, the automaker will adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its electric vehicles. The same charging system that Tesla introduced with the Model S in 2012 is now known as NACS after Tesla decided to make it available to other manufacturers. It’s great to see more companies embracing this technology and working together towards a common goal of sustainability.
It’s no secret that Tesla’s Supercharger network is known as the best in the business. From the beginning, Tesla set the bar high and has maintained its lead ever since. Tesla was so confident in its Supercharger network that it even highlighted an announcement of the name change to NACS in November of 2022. It’s clear that Tesla has invested a lot of time and resources into creating a top-notch charging network, and it’s paying off big time for E.V. owners everywhere.
“With more than a decade of use and 20 billion E.V. charging miles to its name, the Tesla charging connector is the most proven in North America… It has no moving parts, is half the size, and twice as powerful as Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors. NACS is the most common charging standard in North America: NACS vehicles outnumber CCS two-to-one, and Tesla’s Supercharging network has 60 percent more NACS posts than all the CCS-equipped networks combined.”
-Tesla
Tesla has over 12,000 Supercharging stations in the U.S. and Canada and continues to build more daily. What’s impressive about these stations is how easy they are to use. Tesla chargers always work, and if there is a problem, Tesla owners can easily avoid problematic stations using their car or mobile app.
It was great to see Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk teaming up on Twitter Spaces to deliver the exciting news that Ford EVs will soon be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network. Starting in early 2024, Ford EVs can use Tesla’s network thanks to NACS to CCS adapters. Even more exciting is the announcement that, by 2025, Ford EVs will have NACS hardware and software built-in, making the charging experience completely seamless. The partnership is a monumental step forward for the electric vehicle industry, and we can’t wait to see what else the future holds.
As Farley mentioned in a separate interview with CNBC, he has been working on this plan for “a couple of years” with Elon and the team. So it’s clear that the state of U.S. charging infrastructure and Tesla’s advantages have been on his mind for a while. In August of 2022, he hinted at his plans at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
“Charging is awful. It’s awful. No high speed chargers, right? No quality metric around whether they’re broken or not. You can’t reserve one, so if someone pulls right in front of you… They’re not in locations that you want to spend time anyways,” Farley said, before commenting on the competition. “Other than Tesla. Charging plugs break. Tesla’s plug is excellent, by the way, doesn’t break if you drop it.”
-Ford CEO, Jim Farley
It’s fascinating to remember when Tesla first introduced their Supercharger network. Many people dismissed it as a risky move that could potentially bankrupt the company. Yet, despite the naysayers, Tesla pushed forward, securing land for a nationwide network, building chargers, and connecting them to the grid and cars via mobile apps. It was a monumental task that required appealing electric vehicles and an exceptional E.V. charging experience. Now, Ford has recognized the value of this competitive advantage and is following suit. It’s time for other manufacturers to catch up.
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Photo Credit: Ford Media