Ford partners with Tesla to give customers access to EV Superchargers

By Samantha Delouya, CNN

(CNN) — Ford electric vehicle owners will soon gain access to Tesla’s vast EV charging network, according to the CEOs of both companies.

Beginning next year, Ford EV owners in the United States can use the Ford’s mobile app to use Tesla’s 12,000 Supercharger stations — the company’s name for its fast charging stations.

The partnership was announced by Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on a Twitter Spaces livestream on Thursday. Musk is also the CEO and owner of Twitter.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ford as a company, and it makes great vehicles. This is something we’re super happy to support,” Musk said during the livestream.

Farley also announced that Ford’s next-generation EVs would be made with Tesla-style charging ports rather than the so-called CCS chargers used by most other EV markers, including General Motors, Audi, and Rivian. Tesla’s charging stations outnumber CCS stations in the United States.

“We don’t have as many EV customers as you do, but we still have plenty, and for them to be able to have this benefit early next year already and not have to buy a new car is, I think, a real statement by you and the Tesla team to be really prioritizing the customer’s experiences,” Farley told Musk.

Existing Ford electric vehicles will use an adapter to access Tesla’s Superchargers.

As many US states push for electric vehicle adoption, some critics have pointed out that long stretches of highways lack the charging infrastructure to make the cars a viable option for many Americans. The issue is growing in urgency: Several states, including California and New York, have passed bills to restrict the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

In November, Musk invited other EV makers to build vehicles using Tesla charging ports. Ford is the first major automaker to take Musk up on the offer.

“It’s super hard making embedded electric architectures,” Farley joked during the event.

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