The all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E at a Tesla Supercharger charging station.
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Detroit — “ ford motor Tesla is rolling out Tesla Supercharging capabilities to owners of its electric vehicles in the United States and Canada. The launch begins on Thursday, but supply is expected to be limited at first.
The Detroit automaker was the first to announce a deal Tesla To take advantage of the electric vehicle maker's supercharger network. The vast majority of US automakers have since followed suit. Under the deals, companies like Ford will adopt Tesla's charging port for future electric car models.
Meanwhile, an adapter is needed to connect non-Tesla vehicles, which use different charging technologies, to Tesla's network. Ford says the partnership will double access to fast chargers for owners — but it may take some time to distribute adapters to all customers.
“We are supply-constrained as we move forward, and we believe the initial stages of launch demand will outpace supply,” Ken Williams, Ford's director of charging and energy services, said during a news conference. “We will try to manage this demand on a first-come, first-served basis.”
Williams declined to reveal how many adapters the company currently has to offer to electric vehicle customers, who in the United States have purchased nearly 140,000 electric vehicles from Ford since 2023. Ford said the adapters are expected to begin shipping to customers in late March.
Tesla, which designed the adapter and distributes it to automakers, did not respond to a request for comment on the details.
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Fast chargers are capable of adding hundreds of miles of driving range in an hour or less, depending on the vehicle. This is compared to less powerful chargers which can take hours, if not longer, to do this.
Last year, automakers began agreeing to adopt Tesla's charging technology to access its already extensive charging network instead of or in addition to building their own chargers (or waiting for others like the federal government to do so).
Ford does not receive any revenue or pay Tesla for access to the Tesla Supercharger network, according to a spokesman for the Detroit automaker.
Ford customers
Existing Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E retail customers can reserve a free charging adapter through the Ford owner app or at Ford.com/FastChargingAdapter by June 30, the company said. After this period, the adapters will cost $230 apiece.
Once on site, customers need to log in or register for Ford's “BlueOval Charging Network” through its FordPass app to reserve an adapter. Customers who are not yet enrolled in the BlueOval Charge Network will be required to register before ordering their fast charging adapter.
Adapters will be mailed based on reservations, and some customers, depending on registration time, may experience an unannounced wait.
Order a Tesla Adapter for F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E
Ford owners will be able to tap into the Tesla charger through the FordPass app, or the Charge Assist app in the vehicle's touchscreen, eliminating the need to use a credit card on site. They will also be able to use the Tesla app.
The adapter is necessary to connect what is known as the Common Charging System (CCS) charger port, which has been the industry standard in the United States, to Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) system.
Under the Ford-Tesla agreement, Ford says starting Thursday owners will be given access to more than 15,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada.
Tesla says it has more than 50,000 Supercharger connectors worldwide. The company did not say how many devices there are in the United States, as the US Department of Energy reports that the country only has about 6,900 CCS fast chargers available to the public.
With the addition of Tesla Superchargers, Ford says BlueOval Charge Network customers have access to more than 126,000 chargers, including more than 28,000 fast chargers.
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