Today, Tesla has announced that their Supercharger network is now open to Ford vehicles and will soon open to others. That means DC-Fast capable Ford vehicles (including Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit vans) can use over 15,000 Tesla plugs across North America.
So if you're a Ford owner, what do you need to know?
Ford is offering existing owners a free adapter if requested by June 30. You can order your adapter here. Future customers will need to purchase their adapters, and Ford says the retail price will be $230 + tax. You can also find adapters already on the aftermarket, including this Typhoon plug from A2Z for $197.
To find chargers or initiate your session, you can use your FordPass charging app or Tesla's app. This is also how you'll handle payment, as Superchargers have no method of payment on the plugs themselves. Once a payment method is added to the app, you can pay per session. Tesla also offers a monthly membership ($12.99) with lower rates per kWh.
All you need to do is pull up to the Supercharger stall and plug in (with your adapter). Everything else is handled in the app.
Tesla has 4 "generations" of Supercharger called V1, V2, V3 and V4. In total, there are over 27,000 Tesla plugs in North America but Ford drivers will only have access to V3 and V4 units, totaling approximately 15,000 (and counting). That's because Tesla's first two generations of Supercharger use a different protocol than Ford vehicles. Think of it like the plugs speak a different language. Starting with V3, Tesla switched the "language" to be the same as all cars that use the CCS connector including Ford.
If you'd like to know whether a station is a V3 or up station, look at its peak charge speed. V3 was the first generation to offer 250 kW charging, so a shorthand way to find compatible stations in apps like PlugShare or ChargeWay is to filter by Tesla plugs with a speed of 250 kW.
Tesla has stated that Rivian, GM, Volvo and Polestar will all be granted the same access as Ford vehicles starting in "Spring 2024".
