Ford was one of the first automakers in the United States to announce it would start to use Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector in its future electric vehicles, something that almost all of the other North American automakers have since agreed to do as well.
However, that switch to the NACS connector won’t happen until 2025. That’s when Ford and most of the rest are expected to start releasing vehicles to customers with the adapter built in. In the meantime, Ford’s EVs still feature the good-old CCS connector. So, what’s Ford going to do for all of those customers who bought an EV but are stuck with the old connector?
Thankfully, Ford CEO Jim Farley says that the company is going to take care of those customers. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the executive confirmed that Ford will be providing CCS to NACS adapters to eligible customers for free. Farley says that adapters will be provided to owners of the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning in the United States and Canada:
When we announced Ford EVs would get access to Tesla Superchargers, I said we’d send customers a Fast Charging Adapter. I’m pleased to confirm that eligible Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners in the U.S. and Canada can reserve a complimentary adapter starting soon.
This is our way of saying thank you! We want to make charging more convenient for our Ford EV owners, so we’re excited to add Tesla chargers and will continue growing our BlueOval Charge Network. More details soon.
The announcement comes as we’re closing into a lot of EVs getting access to Tesla’s Supercharger network as well. Not only have most of the other automakers in North America announced that they will be integrating the NACS connector into their vehicles starting in 2025, but they will also gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network that year as well.
This means that all of these EV models will be able to grab a charge at Tesla’s 12,000+ Supercharger network starting in the same year. Of course, this also means that companies who are also building out a charging network of their own, like Rivian and Mercedes, will use NACS on their chargers, opening up even more charging networks for Tesla owners.
As Ford gets ready to start sending out its free NACS adapters to its EV customers, we’re also nearing the launch of some notable EVs when this whole connector shift comes to a head. Tesla is rumored to potentially be launching project “Redwood,” it’s rumored $25,000 electric vehicle, as soon as 2025 according to four people “familiar with the matter.”
Tesla sent “requests for quotes,” or invitation for bids for the “Redwood” model, to suppliers last year, and forecast weekly production volume of 10,000 vehicles, two of the sources said. Production would begin in June 2025, three of the sources said. All spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential.
Rivian is also expected to launch its R2 vehicle, its next-generation model after the R1T and R1S, in 2026. The company is anticipated to host an event to reveal the new platform in Laguna Beach on March 7th after information was released from a city council meeting. We also may have gotten a first look at the design of the R2 from a recent patent application.
