Ford gets access to Tesla charging tech in surprise deal

May 26, 2023

Mahmoud Bennett Reporter/Producer

By Mahmoud Bennett (Reporter/Producer)

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Ford Motor Company announced it will be partnering with Tesla to provide its electric vehicle customers with access to Tesla’s extensive charging network in the U.S. and Canada. Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the agreement Thursday, May 25, during a “Twitter Spaces” audio chat.

“We think this is a huge move for our industry and for all electric customers,” Farley said.

In addition, Ford plans to equip its electric vehicles with built-in Tesla-compatible connectors, making it the first automotive brand to adopt this approach after Tesla opened its charging design to other companies in November.

This collaboration is seen as a significant step toward wider EV adoption, that appears likely to accelerate adoption of Tesla’s preferred charging setup, Axios reported.

Tesla’s charging stations were previously exclusive to Tesla owners, but the company initiated a pilot program earlier this year, granting access to some stations for non-Tesla EVs. While this move garnered criticism from certain Tesla owners concerned about increased wait times for charging, Musk has defended his broader vision, as the United States undergoes a historic shift toward electric cars.

“The idea is that we don’t want the Tesla Supercharger network to be like a walled garden. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transport in general,” Musk said.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced Tesla’s assistance in its goals constructing a nationwide EV charging network of 500,000 chargers along American highways

Worldwide, consumers are increasingly embracing the shift toward electric vehicles, evident in Tesla’s Model Y becoming the best-selling car globally in the first quarter of 2023. While Tesla continues to lead the U.S. EV market, industry experts predict that its dominance is in decline with the emergence of more EV brands.

Ford suggested that the Tesla standard represents the future, placing other car companies at a crossroads.

In an interview with CNBC, Ford CEO Jim Farley stated, “I think GM and others are going to have a big choice to make – do they want to have fast charging or stick to their standard?”

Tags: Electric vehicles, Elon Musk, Ford, Tesla

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

TESLA OWNER AND CEO ELON MUSK MAY HAVE HIT A ROUGH PATCH THIS WEEK ON TWITTER SPACES AFTER IT CRASHED DURING A PRETTY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT – BUT IT’S UP AND RUNNING NOW AND MUSK IS ALREADY MOVING FORWARD… INVITING THE CEO OF FORD TO ANNOUNCE A NEW BIG DEAL

JIM FARLEY: WE’RE ANNOUNCING THAT IN EARLY 2024 ALL OF FORD’S EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND FUTURE CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO 12,000 SUPERCHARGERS ACROSS THE U.S.

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

FORD IS PARTNERING WITH TESLA IN A MOVE THAT WILL GIVE FORD’S EV CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO TESLA’S MASSIVE CHARGING NETWORK STARTING NEXT YEAR

IN ADDITION FORD SAYS IT’LL START MAKING THEIR E-V’s WITH BUILT IN TESLA-COMPATIBLE CONNECTERS – THIS MARKS THE FIRST CAR BRAND TO MAKE THIS MOVE AFTER TESLA OPENED UP ITS CHARGING DESIGN TO OTHER COMPANIES LAST YEAR.

THE MOVE IS BEING VIEWED AS A BIG STEP TOWARD WIDER EV ADOPTION – IN FAVOR OF TESLA’S VISION

UP UNTIL RECENTLY TESLA’S CHARGING STATIONS WERE EXCLUSIVE FOR TESLA OWNERS BUT THE COMPANY ROLLED OUT A PILOT PROGRAM EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT OPENS SOME STATIONS TO NON-TESLA EVs

WHILE THAT SPARKED CRITICISM FROM SOME TESLA OWNERS WHO WORRY ABOUT HAVING TO WAIT THROUGH LONG LINES TO CHARGE… FOR MUSK THERE APPEARS TO BE A LARGER PICTURE IN SIGHT AS AMERICA MAKES A HISTORIC SHIFT TO ELECTRIC CARS

MUSK: THE IDEA IS THAT WE DON’T WANT THE TESLA SUPERCHARGER NETWORK TO BE LIKE A WALLED GARDEN. WE WANT IT TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS SUPPORTIVE OF ELECTRIFICATION AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN GENERAL

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAD ANNOUNCED EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT TESLA WILL ASSIST ITS GOALS IN BUILDING OUT A NATIONWIDE EV CHARGING NETWORK OF 500,000 CHARGERS ALONG AMERICA’S HIGHWAYS

AND CONSUMERS SEEM TO BE EMBRACING THE SHIFT WORLDWIDE GIVEN THAT TESLA’S MODEL y WAS THE BEST SELLING CAR GLOBALLY IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2023 .. AND WHILE TESLA ALSO LEADS THE US EV MARKET – INDUSTRY EXPERTS SAY TESLA’S DOMINANCE IS GOING DOWN AS MORE EV BRANDS COME OUT ..

STILL FORD BELIEVES THE TESLA STANDARD IS THE FUTURE AND THAT OTHER CAR COMPANIES WILL SOON BE FACED WITH A DECISION TO MAKE:

FORD CEO: I THINK GM AND OTHERS ARE GOING TO HAVE A BIG CHOICE TO MAKE – DO THEY WANT TO HAVE FAST CHARGING OR STICK TO THEIR STANDARD?