American legacy automaker Ford will soon launch free charging adapters for Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners to access Tesla’s enormous Supercharger network in the US and Canada.
It is a crucial part of Ford and Tesla’s agreement, wherein the Farley-led automaker committed to adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) by 2024.
Announcement details
Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley announced on social media platform X that “eligible” Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners in the US and Canada can finally reserve a free charging adapter starting this spring.
“…This is our way of saying thank you! We want to make charging more convenient for our Ford EV owners, so we’re excited to add Tesla chargers and will continue growing our BlueOval Charge Network. More details soon.”
Ford
According to CEO Farley’s subsequent X post, the 2021 and 2024 model year of the said models will be eligible for the complimentary charging adapters.
The reservation process will follow a one-charger policy per VIN policy. More impressively, Ford will also pay for the shipping cost of the charging adapters.
Ford’s NACS adoption strategy
Ford was the first major electric automaker in the US to support Tesla’s NACS uptake. For context, Ford uses the Combined Charging System 1 (CCS1) inlet in its electric vehicles.
Therefore, it committed to launching a free NACS adapter for its owners by 2024 after it signed the deal with Tesla last year. When they announced the partnership last May, the first EVs on the line to access Tesla Superchargers were the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit starting in early 2024.
Then, Ford will finally equip its next-generation EVs with the NACS port to cut the need for charging adapters in 2025.
NACS family
Presented below are the electric vehicle industry players who have already committed to adopting Tesla NACS:
| Brand | Type | Confirmed |
| Ford / Lincoln | Automaker | May 2023 |
| General Motors | Automaker | June 2023 |
| Rivian | Automaker | June 2023 |
| Volvo / Polestar | Automaker | June 2023 |
| Mercedes | Automaker | July 2023 |
| Nissan / Infiniti | Automaker | July 2023 |
| Fisker | Automaker | Aug 2023 |
| Honda / Acura | Automaker | Sept 2023 |
| Jaguar | Automaker | Sept 2023 |
| Hyundai | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Kia | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Genesis | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| BMW | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Rolls-Royce | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Mini | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Toyota / Lexus | Automaker | Oct 2023 |
| Subaru | Automaker | Nov 2023 |
| Lucid | Automaker | Nov 2023 |
| VW | Automaker | Dec 2023 |
| Mazda | Automaker | Jan 2024 |
| Stellantis | Automaker | * In Talks |
| SK | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| ChargePoint | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| Blink Charging | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| Tritium | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| EVgo | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| ABB | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| Wallbox | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
| Electrify America | Charging Net. | June 2023 |
Tesla Supercharger remains the biggest level 3 charging network globally, boasting more than 5,000 stations and 5,000 stalls in total. It has also gained the reputation of being the “most reliable DC fast charging network” in America, as shown by JD Power’s 2023 EVX public charging study.
Ford has yet to disclose more details about the reservation process and the technical specifications of the adapters. For now, we know for sure that the arrival of the charging adapters will significantly benefit Ford owners in North America. It can also potentially attract new customers in the future, given that the brand’s new-gen EVs will no longer need adapters by 2025.
