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VIDEO: What You Didn't Know about the Ford/Tesla NACS Charger Agreement

Ford CEO Jim Farley explains how he personally got Elon Musk to open up the Tesla network.

Michael C. Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Battery Technology

March 14, 2024

Ford Mach-E at a Tesla charging port

Ford Mach-E at a Tesla charging portImage courtesy Ford Motor Co.

In May 2023, Ford startled the electric car industry by announcing its future EVs would embrace Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug, granting them access to Tesla's charging network. Initially, Ford revealed a plan for its EVs to utilize these chargers with an adapter from 2024 before transitioning to Tesla's plug directly from the factory in 2025.

As Battery Technology readers know, once the Ford/Tesla agreement was announced, the rest of the US EV makers raced to come to terms with Tesla and embrace NACS as well. But the Ford-Tesla agreement was the starting gun.

Previously not widely known, however, is that Ford's transition to the NACS plug encountered unexpected hurdles. During an interview with "State of Charge" host Tom Moloughney, Ford CEO Jim Farley disclosed that Tesla initially rejected Ford's proposal. It took direct dialogue by Farley with Tesla CEO Elon Musk to bring the agreement to fruition.

About the Author

Michael C. Anderson

Editor-in-Chief, Battery Technology, Informa Markets - Engineering

Battery Technology Editor-in-Chief Michael C. Anderson has been covering manufacturing and transportation technology developments for more than a quarter-century, with editor roles at Manufacturing Engineering, Cutting Tool Engineering, Automotive Design & Production, and Smart Manufacturing. Before all of that, he taught English and literature at colleges in Japan and Michigan.

See more from Michael C. Anderson

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