Ford is the first automaker to offer a factory Tesla adapter.
Owners of Ford electric vehicles can already recharge at certain Tesla Supercharger stations, but this spring, that number of available chargers is set to massively expand. However, until Ford switches its charging ports over to the North American Charging Standard (NACS), its EVs will still need adapters to work with Tesla’s equipment. Thankfully, Ford is giving them out for free to any North American customer to who orders one by June 30. That makes Ford the first automaker to offer factory adapters for Tesla charging stations.
“I’m proud Ford is first to offer our customers this access,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a recent Twitter/X post. “With Tesla Superchargers added to the Ford BlueOval Charge Network, it more than doubles the fast-chargers available to them. Paired with Plug & Charge, no other apps are needed to start a charge.”
When Ford says Tesla’s Superchargers will be added to the “Ford BlueOval Charge Network,” that’s not just marketing. Since Superchargers are now part of Ford’s footprint, customers won’t need a separate charging account or credit card. They’ll simply plug in, charge up, and pay using the FordPass app like they would at other stations.
Up until now, to juice up a non-Tesla EV at a Supercharger location, you had to use a charger with Tesla’s relatively new “Magic Dock” interface that’s built into the charging post. Otherwise, third-party adapters were required, and even then not every Supercharger was compatible. Ford is the first manufacturer to give its customers a factory adapter, though it surely won’t be the last. At this point, every major automaker that sells vehicles in North America is jumping over to NACS, and likely to provide similar hardware for their customers in the coming months and years.
Any United States or Canadian owner of a Ford EV model years 2021 through 2024 can get an adapter for free if they claim one between now and June 30. Anyone who orders after June 30 will have to pay $230. You can reserve yours at Ford’s dedicated website. At the moment, the automaker is not sharing a timeline as to when the first free adapters will become available, thought it says it will fulfill orders “on a first-come, first-served basis” and that wait times are expected to vary.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
