{"id":32728,"date":"2024-05-14T10:35:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32728"},"modified":"2024-05-14T10:37:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:37:43","slug":"payne-ford-evs-can-now-use-tesla-superchargers-heres-how-it-works-in-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/payne-ford-evs-can-now-use-tesla-superchargers-heres-how-it-works-in-michigan","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Ford EVs can now use Tesla Superchargers. Here’s how it works in Michigan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northville<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Ford Motor Co. is the first legacy automaker to gain customer access to Tesla Inc.\u2019s vast, reliable charging network. Some instructions required.<\/p>\n

The Northville Tesla Supercharger at the Meijer superstore on Haggarty looked like dozens of Superchargers I\u2019ve plugged into around the country. Except this time I was pulling up \u2014 not in a Tesla \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s dominance of the U.S. EV market.<\/p>\n

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Ford Mustang Mach-E at the busy Northville Tesla Supercharger. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

I spent a week charging a 2023 Mustang Mach-E at Tesla chargers across Metro Detroit and talking to customers along the way.<\/p>\n

Customers like Mach-E owner Clayton Lewis, 74. \u201cI ordered my adapter, and I hope it comes soon,\u201d said the Detroit resident who \u2014 like other North American owners of 2021-24 Ford Mach-E, F-150 Lightning or e-Transit vans \u2014 is eligible to receive a complimentary Fast Charging Adapter until June 30. Just Google \u201cFast Charging Adapter from Ford\u201d (or similar keywords), click on the\u00a0Ford web page<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

My Mach-E media tester included the black Combined Charging System adapter \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But the vast Tesla network\u2019s ease of use flipped the script and now U.S. manufacturers are rushing to adopt NACS, beginning with Ford. It\u2019s Tesla\u2019s world, we just live in it.<\/p>\n

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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<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How to charge<\/h2>\n

The Tesla NACS plug is noticeably lighter than the CCS plug \u2014 even with the CCS adapter attached \u2014 which is especially nice for smaller drivers dragging the charge cord to their car.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tesla chargers are easy to use and they\u2019re fast,\u201d said Katy Kerch, 54, of Brighton, who regularly uses the Northville station to charge her Model 3. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to use those CCS chargers, and they are bulky and slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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 \u2014 within easy reach of the station\u2019s short charge cords.<\/p>\n

Not the Ford Mach-E and Lightning.<\/p>\n

The Mach-E\u2019s charging port is aft of the front wheel well on the driver\u2019s 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\u2019t damage my front bumper with it protruding over the curb. This mating dance is even more difficult for the hulking Lightning pickup.<\/p>\n