I have several thoughts on this topic which I haven't yet seen addressed, or at best only in passing....
First, one of the sources I read or viewed (I think an interview with the Ford CEO) claimed that Ford and Tesla have been in discussions about this for about two years. This means that discussions were occurring
before Tesla opened (and named as such) the NACS specs. Most of the discussions I've seen that assume causality say that Tesla opening NACS created the opportunity for this deal to occur; but if the discussions began ~2 years ago, it seems more likely that it was the other way around -- that Ford refused the widely-reported "poison pill" of Ford's using patents on Tesla's proprietary connector resulting in Ford being unable to sue Tesla over patent infringement for Ford's own patents. To make a deal, Ford might have required better terms on this, and Tesla more fully opening NACS was the result. That said, a private deal would have worked fine from this point of view, so I don't think this was Tesla's sole motivating factor; but it could have been one of the reasons that Tesla opened NACS when they did, vs., say, five years ago. For instance, if Tesla is in active talks with another automaker or two, then similar issues might have driven Tesla to opening NACS as they did as the simplest and best solution from Tesla, to satisfy the demands of multiple parties.
Another point: Most of the discussion has been on DC fast charging; but if Ford completely removes CCS and J1772 connectors, as some reporting suggests (at least for CCS), then presumably NACS-only Fords will require home EVSEs with NACS connectors, or the use of J1772-to-NACS adapters. Ford will presumably switch to NACS plugs on their home EVSEs, and third-party suppliers might start selling them, too. This isn't a big deal, really, since J1772-to-NACS adapters are cheap enough and work well enough that they can be fine, and Tesla's Wall Connector is a good deal; but if you wanted a non-Tesla EVSE with an NACS plug, Ford's adopting NACS could make them available. Similarly, if this moves beyond Ford, and NACS truly does become the standard, then eventually public L2 infrastructure will begin to favor NACS. I don't expect the latter to happen for years, though.
Similarly, this may speed the adoption of NACS cables at EVgo, EA, ChargePoint, and other DC fast charging providers. With more manufacturers providing cars with NACS plugs, DC fast charging networks may start to ditch CHAdeMO in favor of NACS cables. I'm well aware that EVgo already has NACS plugs, via a modified Tesla CHAdeMO adapter; and some other small providers do something similar. I'm talking about a more "native" NACS cable, even if it "talks" the CCS protocol. This would be a plus for Tesla owners who have CCS support but who haven't shelled out for a CCS-to-NACS adapter.
For those hoping for NACS to truly become a standard, Ford's signing on might help, since they could then throw their weight behind a true standards body (probably SAE, but maybe IEEE or somebody else) adopting NACS as a standard. AFAIK, despite putting "standard" in the name, NACS isn't really a standard in the same sense that something adopted by a standards body is. This could be a good thing for further driving adoption of NACS. OTOH, it could be a double-edged sword -- a standards body might want to make changes that could turn into a nightmare.
When I read the announcement about 2025 Fords using NACS, I assumed that the year referred to the model year, so that Ford EVs would begin shipping with NACS ports in a bit over a year, in late 2024. OTOH, if 2025 refers to a
calendar year, then it'll likely be late 2025 before they materialize. Does anybody have any solid references to clarify this point?
Finally, I haven't seen references in this thread to this Munro and Associates YouTube video:
The presenters show various components from both Tesla NACS and Ford CCS implementations and describe various ways that Tesla's is less expensive and otherwise better. Of course, it's not clear that Ford will adopt all of Tesla's cost-saving improvements, but I thought it was an interesting comparison.
people are saying above that only some % of chargers will be shared. Didn't Tesla say earlier that it would open its chargers to all EVs, but that didn't include the very fastest? Was that in fact true and will that be true in the future? (One would suppose Fords would get good treatment if they are paying.)
Tesla has said in the past that they would open a certain number of their Superchargers by adding CCS capabilities (via Magic Docks). I don't recall the exact numbers, but as I understand it, fewer Superchargers will have Magic Docks than will be open to Fords under this new deal. Thus, this deal means that Fords will have access to
more Superchargers than they would have via Magic Docks, but I haven't seen any solid reporting on precisely which Superchargers Fords will be able to use. Some have
speculated that V2 Superchargers will be out (because they can't use the CCS protocol), or that Tesla will exclude very high-usage Superchargers (like some in the LA area), but that's all speculation. As usual, we'll just have to wait and see.
As to speed, I just checked, and all 11 of the current Superchargers with Magic Docks are listed as 250 kW (V3) stations. Many non-Tesla users report getting lower speeds on them than they can get at other CCS stations, though. There are a range of technical reasons for this, having to do with matching the voltage and amperage requirements of various vehicles, and possibly Tesla playing it safe in the initial test stations. Things may improve in the future, particularly once V4 Superchargers come online; but as usual, we in the general public don't have solid information. This topic is covered in this YouTube video:
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