Last year, Ford CEO Jim Farley announced that the automaker would be the first to join Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), but the transition required an adapter for Ford’s existing EVs. Ford promised to deliver the free adapters to all EV owners, and it recently announced that 140,000 had been sent.
The adapters give Ford EV owners access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers, an increase from 2024. It’s a popular program, with almost 20 percent owners’ public charging stops happening at a Supercharger. Access to Tesla’s network gives Ford owners more than 180,000 charging points at over 50,000 locations, making it the largest network in the country. The automaker also said it plans to continue expanding access as more chargers come online.
While adapters add another step to the charging process, Ford says its product is built to stand up to abuse. The automaker said that it knows owners will drop the adapters and noted that it built them with “robust sealing.” One test involved running over the adapter with a Ford F-150 Lightning.
Charging networks and quality-of-life improvements for EV owners will become more important as tax credits and other incentives dry up. Like others, Ford sweetens the pot for EV buyers by including a Level 2 home charger with installation and other services to make the transition to electric as painless as possible.
[Images: Ford]
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