Ford EVs Can Now Use Tesla Chargers: Here's How to Get a Free Adapter
Existing Ford EV owners have until June 30 to claim their adapters.
Ford is one of the many automakers to announce the adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS) or Tesla-style plug for EVs. The Blue Oval on Thursday morning became the first additional automaker to officially gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network, and to celebrate, the American automaker is providing an adapter for F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E owners—though there's a catch.
First, the network news. Starting today, Ford EV owners will be able to find over 15,000 Tesla Superchargers through the BlueOval Charge Network app. This represents the vast majority of version 3 Superchargers—Tesla is keeping some exclusive to its own vehicles, for now—and more than doubles the available DC fast chargers in the app.
In addition, buyers can use the FordPass App or the vehicle's native Charge Assist App to activate Plug & Charge capability. This way, all payment is handled automatically at the Supercharger, with no need to pull out the ol' plastic.
Charging route integration with navigation will not be available at launch, but Ford confirmed it will arrive in a future update. This applies not only to the native nav, but also Apple Maps and Google Maps.
The adapter is available starting today, from Ford's website.
How to get a free Ford-Tesla Adapter
If you are a current (or soon-to-be) Lightning or Mach-E owner, you'll be able to reserve the adapter at no cost through the website. The offer is limited to one adapter per VIN, and it lasts until June 30.
As of July 1, all interested parties will be able to buy the charger from the site, which will cost $230 USD per pop.
You'll want to be quick, too: Ford would not commit to offering this same deal to buyers after June 30. That's despite native NACS plugs on Ford EVs not being planned until the next generation of product.
To its credit, Ford says the adapter has no communication capacity, so it should work with other brands' EVs on Supercharger networks, at least in theory. A Blue Oval spokesperson stated that both Ford and Tesla only approve of this adapter for all Ford EV Supercharger use.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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