All existing and future owners of Ford electric vehicles will have access to Tesla’s supercharger network, the company’s CEOs announced on Twitter Thursday.
The partnership will start in early 2024,
Ford Motor
(ticker: F) CEO Jim Farley and
Tesla
(TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said during a Twitter Spaces meeting.
Charging a non-Tesla EV will require an adapter and, of course, cost money. It “will not be cost prohibitive,” said Musk, reiterating his goal to expand EV penetration as rapidly as possible.
More EVs sold faster will benefit both companies. Tesla makes money from its charging network, the largest in the U.S. And adding Tesla’s chargers dramatically expands the number of places Ford EV drivers can “refuel.” (EVs, of course, refuel with electrons, not gas.)
The news—and a convivial meeting between competitors—is a surprise. But Twitter, which is owned by Musk, is working to expand its reach beyond tweets. The auto conversation comes a day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on Twitter Spaces, an app feature that lets Twitter users host conversations.
The event lasted 30 minutes and the CEO took a few questions. The idea of further collaboration, beyond charging, was floated, including in the software that runs EVs. “We’re happy to be helpful on the software front,” said Musk.
Software does a lot on EVs, including managing batteries as well as advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. Ford has an award-winning level 2 ADAS product called Blue Cruise that lets customers let go of the wheel. Level 2 systems still require drivers to pay attention to the road 100% of the time.
Blue Cruise competes with Tesla’s autopilot product. Tesla also sells a more advanced version of ADAS called Full Self Driving, or FSD. Tesla is trying to achieve level 3 and 4 autonomous driving with that product. Level 3, essentially, means drivers can safely stop paying attention in limited situations. With level 4, drivers can stop paying attention most of the time.
Farley didn’t immediately respond to a question about software collaboration extending to self driving cars.
Ford stock was up 0.9% in the after-hours session. Tesla shares rose 0.2%. Ford shares gained 0.4% in regular trading Thursday. Tesla added 0.9%. The
S&P 500
rose 0.9% while the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 0.1%.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
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