DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. will partner with Tesla on charging initiatives for its current and future electric cars in an unusual deal between the two rivals. The automaker’s CEO announced Thursday.
Under the agreement, current Ford owners will be given access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across . The United States and Canada beginning next year through the use of an adapter. And, Ford’s next-generation EVs — expected by mid-decade — will include Tesla’s charging plug. Which will allow owners of Ford vehicles to charge at . Tesla Superchargers without an adapter, making Ford one of the first automakers to connect to the network.
The initiatives were announced by Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a live, audio discussion on Twitter Spaces. They come as Ford tries to ramp up production of its all-electric vehicles — or someday — to surpass Tesla’s sales in the segment.
While Tesla so far dominates the EV sector, Ford was second in sales of all-electric vehicles in the U.S. last year, with 61,575 electric vehicles sold.
Farley said the company is “committed” to a single US charging protocol that includes the Tesla Plug port, known as NACS. It’s unclear whether Ford’s next-generation EVs will keep the charging ports featured on current models, known as CCS. A Ford spokesman said the company “has this option available to us but has no news to share today.”
A separate Ford spokesperson told CNBC that the price to charge “will be competitive in the market.” The companies will release more details closer to a launch date expected in 2024.
Tesla has before discussed opening up its private network to other EVs. White House officials announced in February that Tesla has pledged to open 7,500 of its charging stations to non-Tesla EV drivers by the end of 2024. Before the company’s chargers in the US were used to be compatible with Tesla’s EVs.
At Tesla’s first quarter shareholder day. The company revealed that there are approximately 45,000 Supercharger connectors at 4,947 Supercharger stations worldwide. The company does not disclose revenue from chargers or devices by country. It includes revenue from its supercharging stations under a “services and other” category.
The Twitter space event between . Farley and Musk on Thursday marked the latest interaction between. The two executives, who have a unique rivalry. They admired each other even though their companies were in direct competition.
Ford beat Tesla in the pickup segment by starting production of its F-150 Lightning. The electric version of its popular truck, in April 2022. Ford has benchmarked the . Tesla Model Y for its Mustang Mach-E crossover and followed the Tesla on price. Electric crossover cut.
But Musk, who leads Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, has praised Ford as a historic American company. Praising its ability to avoid bankruptcy, unlike its crosstown rivals General Motors and Chrysler during the Great Recession.
Such flattery was prevalent during Thursday’s call: “Working with Elon and his team. I’m excited for our industry and Ford customers,” Farley said. Musk later reciprocated the sentiment: “It’s an honor to work with a great company like Ford,” he said.
Farley prodded Musk a bit by asking about a long-delayed new version of the company’s first car, the Roadster. Musk teased a Roadster refresh in the fall of 2017 . He promised it would have a 620-mile range per charge and three motors, among other features
Today, he reiterated on Thursday, the new version of the Roadster has not yet been designed.
Earlier Thursday. Farley praised Tesla for its charging network during a Morgan Stanley conference. Saying that while Ford has developed. Its own charging products for its commercial customers, automakers . Should consider collaborating on charging infrastructure for the general public.
“It seems completely ridiculous. That we have an infrastructure problem, and we can’t even agree on which plug to use,” Farley said, adding . That Tesla’s charging plug is different from that used by other automakers. “the first step is to work together in a way that we haven’t done, with new EV brands and traditional auto companies.
