From February 29th, 2024, Ford electric vehicle (EV) owners will be able to reserve an adapter that will enable them to charge their vehicles at Tesla‘s Supercharger network, widely regarded as the most extensive and reliable charging infrastructure in the United States. This move comes after Ford announced last year its plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector for its EVs, a decision that prompted other automakers to follow suit, leading to a massive shift toward Tesla’s standardized charging system.

The adapter, manufactured by Tesla itself, allows EVs equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS 1) to use Tesla’s Superchargers. While the adapter typically retails for $230, Ford is offering it to its EV customers free of charge, at least until July 1st, 2024. After that date, customers will need to pay the full price, plus taxes and shipping, to acquire the adapter.

“This will more than double our access to fast charging within the US and Canada with the addition of greater than 15,000 chargers with the Tesla Supercharger network,” said Ken Williams, director of charging and energy services at Ford, during a press conference.

However, Ford acknowledged that not every customer will receive an adapter immediately due to supply constraints. The company is reliant on Tesla’s ability to manufacture enough adapters to meet the anticipated demand, which is expected to exceed the initial supply.

“We do believe that in the initial phases of launch, the demand will exceed supply, but we’re going to try to manage that demand on a first-come-first-serve basis,” Williams explained.

For years, Tesla’s Supercharger network was exclusive to Tesla owners, a significant selling point for the brand’s electric vehicles. However, the company eventually started offering access to non-Tesla EVs, first in Europe and then in the US, after the Biden administration made it a prerequisite for tapping into the $7.5 billion allocated for EV charging in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that he never intended the Supercharger network to be a “walled garden.”

With over 55,000 Superchargers worldwide, including 15,000 in the US, Tesla’s network is widely recognized as superior to many third-party EV charging stations, which often feature CCS plugs and the less-utilized CHAdeMO charging standard.

Ford confirmed that its customers would be able to access the “vast majority” of Tesla’s network using the adapter, with the exception of some older V2 Superchargers and a limited number of V3 stalls.

While adapters are known to charge more slowly than a direct connection due to voltage limitations, Ford assured that its EVs would receive “their maximum charge” when using Tesla’s Superchargers. However, the company refrained from commenting on how the rate of charge compares to a direct connection.

The adapters are intended to be a short-term solution to the problem of EV charging availability and reliability, as non-Tesla EV owners have reported issues with public chargers, including buggy software, broken chargers, and unavailable locations.

Ultimately, Ford and other automakers have stated their intention to produce EVs with factory-installed Tesla NACS ports, eliminating the need for adapters. However, these vehicles are not expected to hit the market until 2025 or later.