Starting today, Ford electric vehicle owners will be able to use one of Tesla's more than 2,400 Superchargers, but there's a catch. “They need to get adapters that Ford will provide for free, but the company won't start shipping them until the end of March,” notes the Associated Press.Product reviewer MKBHD also Note Non-Tesla vehicles must be parked in a spot that blocks two Teslas from occupying one space. “Once the charging stations fill the remaining space in the Tesla, the app will show one charger available, but the parking space is blocked by Mach-E,” MKBHD added. From the report: Last May, Ford became the first automaker to reach an agreement with Austin, Texas-based Tesla to charge on its network. This network is the largest and most advantaged in the United States. Tesla has more than 26,000 plugs and approximately 2,400 Supercharger stations across the United States and Canada. Ford says its owners will have access to approximately 15,000 Tesla fast charging plugs strategically placed along travel corridors. Ford owners will no longer be able to use some older Tesla plugs.
Most other automakers followed Ford's lead in joining Tesla's network and agreeing to switch to Tesla's plug, known as the North American Charging Standard. This plug is smaller and easier to use than the current plugs found in most other EVs sold in both countries. Ford said adding the Tesla Plug will double the size of the network available to Ford EV owners.There are approximately 166,000 Ford EVs in the United States.
Ford is making the adapter free to owners, who can sign up to reserve it starting Thursday through June 30 on the Ford.com website. The company provides one adapter per vehicle free of charge. Tesla's network was turned on Wednesday morning, and software that allows Ford vehicles to charge at Tesla stations was also scheduled to ship around the same time. Ford plans to switch to Tesla's charging connectors on its second-generation EVs starting next year.
