Tesla and Ford forge a partnership that should mark the history of the electric car


Ford partners with Tesla in a strategic and historic agreement. Ford’s electric cars will be equipped with Tesla connectors and compatible with Superchargers in the United States. An unexpected strategy, but which could well change the face of the history of electric cars across the Atlantic.

A Mustang Mach-E at Tesla charging station.

Created in 2012, the network of Tesla Superchargers continues to grow. Last June, the milestone of 35,000 terminals was passed, while Europe had no less than 10,000 last October. But the manufacturer does not intend to stop there and wants to literally flood the market with its fast charging solution.

An unexpected partnership

To do this, it has notably opened its terminals to all other manufacturers, in France as well as in the United States. But if with us, it is the CCS Combo 2 standard which is used, it is not quite the same thing across the Atlantic. There, the Superchargers have their own connector, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS), while electric cars from other brands have a Combo CCS1 port.

If Tesla’s proprietary connector was previously only compatible with Elon Musk’s brand cars, the latter has decided to make it accessible to all other vehicles at the end of last year. The goal is for this connector to become one of the most widely used on the market. Because it is necessary to connect to Superchargers. Thus, the manufacturer of the solar electric car, Aptera, had announced the integration of this connector.

A Ford F-150 Lightning at a Tesla charging station

The American manufacturer, however, offers an adapter, called Magic Dock, present on some of the terminals open to all so that other motorists can connect. But now a brand has decided to take the plunge and partner with Tesla in order to offer the NACS connector on its electric cars. This is Ford, which seems to get along well with the firm of Elon Musk after the latter praised its strategy.

In a press release just published, the brand with the blue oval explains that the next generation of electric cars to be launched will be equipped with the famous connector. We do not yet know which models these are, but we are thinking in particular of the future electric Puma, planned for 2025 as well as the large SUV quickly mentioned by the manufacturer.

A larger network

But that’s not all. Because the manufacturer, which seems to have finally found the solution to sell its cars cheaper and earn money announces another good news. Indeed, from the beginning of next year, all Ford electric car owners can be connected to Tesla Superchargers. They are currently more than 12,000 in the United States and Canada to be open to all, while the manufacturer praises the reliability of this network as the site points out. Electrek.

A number that complements the 10,000 fast charging stations that are already part of the BlueOval Charge Network accessible to customers of the American brand. To be able to take advantage of the Superchargers, owners of Ford electric cars will be able to use an adapter, which will undoubtedly be the Magic Dock. This will be compatible with the Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit. On the other hand, nothing has been said about the Explorer and the E-Transit Courier, surely because their marketing is not planned for the United States.

That’s not all, because Ford also announces that its dealerships will also enrich the network by installing no less than 1,800 fast terminals. Thus, it will be even easier to recharge your electric car, while autonomy is still a barrier to purchase for many customers. For the moment, nothing has yet been announced for Europe and France. With us, the network of charging stations is constantly evolving, since we passed the 100,000 mark at the beginning of May.

Good or bad news ?

It should be noted that in Europe, the Tesla Supercharger network is already largely open to all electric vehicles. It has a CCS2 combo port, so it doesn’t need an adapter to connect to a non-Tesla car.

This announcement may seem like good news. It will make it much easier for Ford electric car drivers to recharge on long trips in the United States. But it’s a risky move for the electric car industry across the Atlantic. Why do you want to democratize the Tesla connector, when the Combo CCS1 is the universal connector, integrated into all fast charging networks (excluding Tesla)?

Tesla adapter CCS1
Tesla adapter CCS1

The risk is to create two mutually incompatible charging networks. Finally, not completely, since Tesla markets an adapter, allowing you to connect your Tesla electric car to a terminal equipped with a Combo CCS1 connector.


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