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Payne: Ford EVs can now use Tesla Superchargers. Here’s how it works in Michigan
Posted by Talbot Payne on May 14, 2024
Northville — Ford Motor Co. is the first legacy automaker to gain customer access to Tesla Inc.’s vast, reliable charging network. Some instructions required.
The Northville Tesla Supercharger at the Meijer superstore on Haggarty looked like dozens of Superchargers I’ve plugged into around the country. Except this time I was pulling up — not in a Tesla — but in a 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle. My experience is evidence that a new door has opened, at least a little, to EV owners across North America.
While Tesla’s deals with Ford and other automakers give non-Tesla owners access to state-of-the-art chargers and bring financial benefits to the Austin-based company, letting others in could disrupt a proprietary network that has been key to Tesla’s dominance of the U.S. EV market.
I spent a week charging a 2023 Mustang Mach-E at Tesla chargers across Metro Detroit and talking to customers along the way.
Customers like Mach-E owner Clayton Lewis, 74. “I ordered my adapter, and I hope it comes soon,” said the Detroit resident who — like other North American owners of 2021-24 Ford Mach-E, F-150 Lightning or e-Transit vans — is eligible to receive a complimentary Fast Charging Adapter until June 30. Just Google “Fast Charging Adapter from Ford” (or similar keywords), click on the Ford web page, search for “Ford EV public charging,” and order. It is your key to more than 15,000 Tesla chargers across all 50 states, including Michigan.
My Mach-E media tester included the black Combined Charging System adapter — complete with a nice note from Ford CEO Jim Farley on the box. I attached it to the end of a Tesla NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector in Northville.
Europe mandates CCS chargers, and U.S. automakers assumed this country would follow suit, especially as the U.S. government mandated that chargers it subsidized be CCS. EVs in the States (except Tesla and early Nissan models, which used a Japanese port called CHAdeMO) come standard with CCS ports.
But the vast Tesla network’s ease of use flipped the script and now U.S. manufacturers are rushing to adopt NACS, beginning with Ford. It’s Tesla’s world, we just live in it.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E, left, squeezes in at a full Northville Supercharger station to add some juice. Ford is the first legacy automaker to gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
How to charge
The Tesla NACS plug is noticeably lighter than the CCS plug — even with the CCS adapter attached — which is especially nice for smaller drivers dragging the charge cord to their car.
“The Tesla chargers are easy to use and they’re fast,” said Katy Kerch, 54, of Brighton, who regularly uses the Northville station to charge her Model 3. “I’ve tried to use those CCS chargers, and they are bulky and slow.”
The 360-degree camera in the Ford Mustang Mach-E helps the driver get close to the Tesla charger so the cord will reach. Henry Payne, Detroit News
Unfortunately, most Tesla stations (like CCS stations) are not designed like gas station terminals with easy in-and-out chargers parallel to your car. Northville requires perpendicular parking, which is a cinch for Tesla models since their charge ports are located at the vehicle’s rear left corner — within easy reach of the station’s short charge cords.
Not the Ford Mach-E and Lightning.
The Mach-E’s charging port is aft of the front wheel well on the driver’s side, so I had to pull up tight to the Tesla charging stall so the cord would reach. Fortunately, the Mustang EV has a 360-degree camera to help with the process, but I still got out of the car twice to make sure I didn’t damage my front bumper with it protruding over the curb. This mating dance is even more difficult for the hulking Lightning pickup.
“That’s the one issue you have to work around sometimes,” said Matt Lynn, 41, of Canyon Lake, Texas, who owns a 2023 Lightning. “I just did a trip to El Paso, and I had to pull up diagonally to the charger to make it work.”
Still, that’s a rare problem and Lynn is a regular user of Tesla Superchargers. “I owned two Teslas before this so I’m familiar with the network,” he said. “I’ve never had an issue with a Tesla charger; they are very reliable.”
Taylor’s Tesla charging station is the rare exception with 12 parallel stalls similar to a gas station — including one stall dedicated to tow vehicles like the Lightning or Tesla Cybertruck.
After setting up the FordPass app, owners of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Lighting pickup, and e_Transit vans can charge at a Tesla Supercharger. Henry Payne, Detroit News
There’s an app for that
Unlike CCS chargers, Tesla chargers don’t have a screen with instructions on how to charge. Tesla users plug in and the station instantly communicates with the Tesla app to begin charging and billing. Not the Fords.
I first had to open my FordPass app (which, like the Tesla app, is registered to owners via the BlueOval Charge Network). I identified the charger, selected the stall number (1C), then activated charging before plugging in. On a rainy day in Meijer’s parking lot, I pined for a gas station-like awning.
Startup EV automaker Rivian Automotive Inc. has also gained access to Tesla’s network this spring and is shipping complimentary adapters to customers.
“It works perfectly. I think opening up chargers to more companies will help sell more Rivians and other EVs,” said Joe Drew-Hundley, 42, of Southfield as he unplugged his Rivian R1S SUV from a Northville stall.
Rivian owner Joe Drew-Hundley, 42, of Southfield charges at the Northville Tesla Supercharger. Drew-Hundley thinks opening Tesla’s charger network to Rivian will benefit both EV makers. Henry Payne, Detroit News
Unlike my Mach-E, Drew-Hundley didn’t need to activate Rivian’s app to charge. The Tesla charger recognized it.
Where non-Teslas can charge
One reason Detroit Mach-E owner Lewis is excited for Tesla access is that it opens charging options closer to his Detroit home. He currently has to travel to Novi’s Electrify America station to fast charge. He will be disappointed to learn, however, that the closest Tesla Supercharger to him — at Middle Belt Road and I-96 in Livonia — is unavailable to his Mach-E.
Fords (and Rivians) are only allowed access to so-called V3 250 kW and V4 Tesla 350 kW chargers — not slower V2 150 kW chargers that account for the majority of chargers in Michigan. That’s unfortunate for EV drivers heading to northern Michigan, where Tesla chargers are all V2s. Electrify America’s Bay City chargers are consistently buggy, in my experience, even as there are eight V2 Tesla chargers right next door in the Meijer parking lot. Ford owners will have to tough it out.
In Metro Detroit, only four Tesla Superchargers are available to non-Tesla users. They’re at 1301 Eight Mile, Detroit; 13070 Middle Belt Road, Livonia; 20401 Haggerty Road, Northville; and 14640 Pardee Road, Taylor. Tesla, however, is adding more V4s.
That concerns Tesla Model X owner Matteo Pra, 43, of Northville.
“Yes, it bothers me a bit,” he said of opening Superchargers to other brands. “I just got back from a trip to Indiana and rural chargers were empty. But this is a busy charger, and Tesla will need to build more.”
Indeed, by 2 p.m. on a recent Thursday, all 12 of Tesla’s Northville chargers were occupied — including the one I was using to fuel the Mach-E. Will Tesla owners be upset if they have to wait for a Ford, Rivian, Chevy, Hyundai or other EV model to charge? Time will tell.
“I’m not concerned. It will just drive demand and Tesla will build more,” said New Hampshire’s Cindy Flynn, 48, who was charging her Model 3 after a long drive to Northville to pick up a rare dog breed. “EVs are better for the environment, and as more people use them it will be good for the charging network.”
How to find a charger
Another Metro Supercharger option convenient for Detroit residents are a dozen V3 chargers at the Meijer at Eight Mile and Greenfield. But if you are navigating a 450-mile trip from, say, Traverse City to Columbus, Ohio, it won’t appear on Ford’s native navigation system as a charging stop option.
For now, you can only locate Tesla chargers using the FordPass app.
The Tesla Supercharger must be activated by the FordPass app to charge the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
In the app on my Android phone, I poked the MAP icon and charging options popped up across Metro Detroit — including CCS and Tesla Superchargers. Noncompatible Superchargers such as Livonia were tagged with red type: “Station not compatible.”
The Eight Mile charger suffered no such warning. The app indicated 8 of 12 chargers were available, I selected it — and the FordPass app instantly sent navigation instructions to the Mach-E navigation system (though, erroneously, the nav system disagreed with the app and told me the station was not compatible). I was off.
As I at charged at Eight Mile, I noted the EV-Go CCS charger next door. All four of its chargers (two 100 kW, two 350 kW) were occupied with two Chevy Bolts waiting in line to charge. Had the Bolts had Tesla access, the drivers would have had seven more V3 stalls to choose from.
And Tesla is building 12 more V4s right next door.
Internal combustion-powered cars’ superior affordability and fueling mean EVs are a small, luxury-focused percentage of the U.S. market with EVs making up just 1% of registered vehicles. Gas stations offer standard, easy-to-use fuel nozzles that can add 500 miles of range in two minutes. No app required; no waiting in your car.
The best EV charging solution is to install a 220-volt charger in your garage. But for apartment dwellers and others without a garage, the opening of Tesla chargers is welcome news.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.