Ford will add Tesla plug to its electric vehicles in surprising move

https://electrek.co/2023/05/25/ford-will-add-tesla-plug-to-its-electric-vehicles-in-surprising-move/

by gwbas1c • 3 years ago

61 46 3 years ago

electrek.co

givemeethekeys• 3 years ago

Why didn't other car markers do this earlier? Isn't Tesla's architecture open source?

whaleofatw2022• 3 years ago

Per the article, it appears Tesla only opened up the plug last year...

TheLoafOfBread• 3 years ago

Open source with such a massive caveat that you would need to have IQ 60 to take that bait. Basically by using Tesla's patents, you would give up all your patents.

nacs• 3 years ago

Looks like the Tesla Superchargers are about to get even more crowded than they already are..

m463• 3 years ago

But will it lead to more chargers with the tesla connector?

35997279• 3 years ago

Which means surge pricing for Tesla. Musk said that charging would not be a money maker, but of course times have changed.

Holding on to my free unlimited supercharging for life. :)

rcMgD2BwE72F2• 3 years ago

Ford EV sales don't seem so frightening for Tesla. Tesla will probably get paid from each new Ford EV that get access to the supercharging network so they can speed up the deployment of new stations. This can only help with the mission.

dielotr• 3 years ago

I can't help but feel like this is Tesla surrendering their biggest moat (their Supercharger network, and the exclusivity of it) for questionable gain (worse immediate experience for their customers, unsure if additional revenue will outweigh the costs).

But I can't NOT see it as a huge win for accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy (Tesla's core mission). Brave, bold, and good for the planet. Better for the consumer, who now has two manufacturers' worth of cars to choose from.

iknowstuff• 3 years ago

Questionable gain? If they can be the dominant provider of fast charging for a hundred years regardless of their car sales, that's quite the gain. They also get to build out their capacity with subsidies they would have otherwise missed out on. They are easily 10x more capital efficient than the next fast charging competitor, so this is a very well thought out move.

morkalork2• 3 years ago

Imagine a world where oil is companies and car manufacturers teamed up to make incompatible gas station pumps, does that not sound completely ridiculous?

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF• 3 years ago

Yes and no. There’s more “magic” to the layperson when it comes to electrical engineering. “Liquid gets poured” is more tangible and people will have practical knowledge of it. Using convoluted methods to prevent liquid flow from your competitors’ pumps is going to be more obvious as malicious to the average consumer.

(I still definitely applaud this move which increases charging availability for consumers; just responding to this specific question.)

bombcar• 3 years ago

They actually did this (leaded pumps won’t fit unleaded fillers) but they didn’t do it for diesel vs unleaded. Ask me how I know.

cushpush• 3 years ago

Every phone has a different charging cable tho?

11thEarlOfMar• 3 years ago

I'm curious to see how much drivers talk about their Fords vs. Teslas at the stations. In particular, the FSD capability that Ford won't have (until Tesla licenses it to them).

powerbroker• 3 years ago

I just had a shouting match with my wife in her FSD available X. I said, "Hey, while you were away I tried FSD, and it still sucks."

Her response, "How dare you even try FSD in my car!"

Lets just say, FSD has not worked -- it does not work -- it will not work before the car finds its place in the junkyard.

warning26• 3 years ago

FSD, coming next year™!

kentm• 3 years ago

For the love of god please do not talk about your car at the station.

gwbas1c• 3 years ago

I can't help but feel like this is Tesla surrendering their biggest moat ... for questionable gain

If Tesla has a non standard connector much longer, it becomes a liability. It'll be harder and harder for them to sell cars that need adaptors everywhere.

I also don't think the Supercharger Network will be a moat much longer. As there are more EVs, the incentives for business to put in chargers gets higher. Teslas needing an adapter becomes a liability.

LeFantome• 3 years ago

Over the long run, would you rather have been a car company or an energy company ( oil company )?

Turning their potentially short term dominance in EV market share into long term dominance in charging seems brilliant to me. This is especially true if you expect Chinese and Indian EV makers to commoditize the market.

onesociety2022• 3 years ago

Running a charger network is not the same thing as being an energy company like Shell or Exxon Mobil. Tesla has to pay peak electricity rates for their superchargers to the local utility provider. So it’s not a high margin business.

throw9away62• 3 years ago

That’s annoying it might kill the open standard

nomel2• 3 years ago

I believe the Tesla plug is an open standard, and also the most used plug in the US.

fomine3• 3 years ago

like Imperial units

throw9away62• 3 years ago

Yeah I just think the Tesla plug will win and I have a car with the wrong plug type. The current non Tesla stations are hot garbage

clouddrover2• 3 years ago

It's sad that the US still can't get its act together on compatible EV charging infrastructure. Incompatible chargers is profoundly stupid infrastructure.

Europe had the right idea by setting a common charging standard. All brands of charger now charge all brands of EV in Europe. Anything less is backward, primitive, and not something anyone needs.

hedora• 3 years ago

Don’t forget incompatible payment schemes.

It should be illegal for the charger networks to use anything other than third party payment systems.

All the players in the US have proven they are incompetent at accepting payments. They should be forced to standardize on existing payment systems.

mensetmanusman• 3 years ago

Legislators move slower than tech.

PsylentKnight• 3 years ago

[American] legislators move slower than tech.

rcMgD2BwE72F2• 3 years ago

But CCS2 is much worse NACS! Tesla would definitely prefer to use a single plug type worldwide if the common standard wasn't so bad.

They've opened up their network in Europe and clearly want more partners in the US. This business is already profitable and it's a great way to monetize their powerpacks and grid products (esp. Autobidder). They would be the first company to benefit from such a simplification and reinforce their lead.

clouddrover2• 3 years ago

But CCS2 is much worse NACS!

So.. it's much worse and that's why the European EV market is bigger than the North American EV market?

Besides, Tesla Europe says CCS2 is great! Not three days ago they said, "Also, our vehicles use the European charging standard, so you can easily plug in at your charging station of choice":

https://twitter.com/teslaeurope/status/1661323475330428929

Sounds like a winner to me.

pbj1968• 3 years ago

Ford has been including Tesla adapters for awhile…

photochemsyn• 3 years ago

A universal standard for charging will mean more people will be willing to switch to electric vehicles as they won't have to worry about finding their special charger. Abandoning the dream of having a captive market for electricity sales to their customers and capturing market share was going to happen anyway, might as well just pull the plug now.

samcheng• 3 years ago

I remember being worried when Tesla released the Model 3 with a pay-per-kWh scheme. Was that one supercharger by the mall on the way to Tahoe going to be full all the time? Are all of these mass-market sedans going to make me wait?

That did happen a little bit at a few legacy superchargers, but that minor inconvenience was outweighed by the sheer preponderance of additional superchargers built, everywhere. Instead of worrying about the sole charger being full, I can look on the map, and choose among several nearby chargers, each with reasonable meal options.

I hope this happens with Ford. More cars should increase demand for stations, and additional stations increase convenience for everyone.

Ford will add Tesla plug to its electric vehicles in surprising move

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