- This is it.
The adapter that will charge non-Teslas
at Tesla Superchargers.
It solves one of the EV industry's
biggest problems.
Kinda.
Getting this thing off is a pain.
I dropped the dongle,
there's plastic coming off.
So basically no one likes me here.
Yes, I can now charge my Ford Mustang Mach-E
at over 15,000 Tesla Supercharger stalls
in the US and Canada.
And EVs from GM, Hyundai and more,
will soon have the same access
to Tesla stations.
But is it really the dream?
Does it work?
Is it fast?
Am I gonna have to pay more?
To get the answers,
Charger number one.
Number two
I attempted to charge my 2023 Mach-E
at 10 different Tesla Supercharger locations
in my fine home state.
It's beautiful morning in New Jersey.
(funky music)
All right everyone, let's do this.
I gotta blend in somehow.
Test number one, the setup.
All right, this is it.
Ah, it's kinda heavy.
The 1.6 pound adapter
allows Tesla's North American Charging Standard plug
or NACS,
to fit into a non-Tesla CCS port
And dongle on
and moment of truth.
That blue is blinking.
Looks like we're charging!
It's just that easy.
Plug in and charge.
To set that up, I had to do two things.
First, install a software update to my car.
"During the update,
you may not be able to lock, unlock,
or enter the vehicle."
(horror music)
Second, set up my payment info
in the FordPass app.
As soon as I plug in the charger,
it knows it's my account.
These adapters are free until the end
of June, 2024.
You just have to register on Ford's website.
After that, they'll cost $230.
Test two, the spots.
Now, obviously Supercharger sites were designed
for Teslas,
which have their Charging ports
on the rear driver's side.
Tesla drivers always back into the spots
and use the plug on the right.
The Tesla charging cord is fairly short
and doesn't stretch,
and the Mach-E's port is
on the front driver's side.
So that means I have to pull in
like so.
This causes a problem.
See, this charger belongs to this Tesla
in this spot.
This one belongs to this spot,
but I had to park here to use it.
That means that middle spot
can't be used at all.
Same deal here.
If I park here, I need to use this charger.
So this charger is useless.
I'm effectively hogging two chargers.
It was a problem when this white Tesla next
to me couldn't charge.
And, there's a line.
Somebody else is waiting to charge right now.
Ford's next generation of EVs will have
that NACS port.
So I asked Ford's CEO, Jim Farley
if the company would consider moving
the port location.
- [Jim] We are committing to the standard,
not just an adapter.
We really like the Supercharger solution
and Tesla solution technically.
And that would obviously provoke the question of,
"Where do we physically put the port?"
- [Joanna] The good news is
that Tesla's V4 charging stations
already have longer cables.
There's another issue I encountered.
Not every Supercharger is compatible
with non-Teslas.
Lemme check the car
and it says," Charging station fault
See manual".
Good times.
Only V3 and newer Superchargers
that have been updated
with the right software will work.
The most straightforward way to navigate
to these supported chargers
while in the car would be using
Ford's Charge Assist dashboard app.
Except the app is slow and buggy.
We are at this location right now,
but it says we are 15 miles away.
When I asked Farley about Ford's lagging software,
he said
- [Jim] There are certain things
like charging, where we have
to do really well ourselves.
We have to do better.
- [Joanna] Until then, your best bet is
to use Tesla's smartphone app
to find Ford supported Superchargers
and then punch in the address to Google
or Apple Maps in the car.
Test three, the speed.
When I charged my Mach-E,
which has an extended range battery option,
from 20% to 80% at an EVgo,
it took 43 and a half minutes.
It cost $39 and 27 cents.
At a Tesla Supercharger,
it took 36 minutes and cost $25 and 20 cents.
Well, it's not an apples to apples comparison
in terms of charge time.
Charging a Tesla Model Y long range
from 20% to 80%,
took 32 minutes and cost $19 and 20 cents.
Yes, rates are higher
to charge a non-Tesla at a Supercharger.
If you wanna get the same price as Tesla owners,
you need to pay Tesla $13 a month
for a Supercharger subscription.
So what did we learn from all
of this charging today?
We learned that this dongle
is a pretty good deal.
Even with the parking issues
and the inability to charge at all Superchargers-
fingers crossed.
Nope.
The speed, the breadth and ease of use
of Tesla's network is a game changer.
We're charging.
And one of my biggest worries
that Tesla owners would be pissed
about my arrival, wasn't a thing.
At least not this early.
- Nothing should make us to feel like,
"No, you are Tesla, you this and that-"
Same thing as a person.
"You are an American, I am not.
"Or you are Muslim,
"you're Christian,
you are black, you're white."
No, nothing should be matter.
- [Joanna] So yes,
one not so small dongle,
one big leap for EV Charging.
Now it's accurate.
(playful music)