Ford's initiative to provide its electric vehicle owners with a fast-charging adapter for access to thousands of Tesla Superchargers isn't going as planned. We reported last week that Ford extended the deadline for its EV owners to get the complimentary North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapter from June 30 to August 31 due to supply issue. Now Ford is saying there's a further delay to delivering all of the NACS to CCS adapters it promised.
In an email that went out to Ford's electric vehicle owners this afternoon, the automaker cited supply chain constraints for the delay. It added that the company was "rapidly working" to increase the production of the NACS to CCS adapters and deliver them to customers "as soon as possible." It's unclear if that means the August 31 deadline to order a free adapter is further extended.
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NACS adapters for non-Tesla EV owners.
Tesla Superchargers make for the largest and most reliable charging network in the U.S. Up until recently, it was only open to Tesla owners. Some stations offered an integral "magic dock" adapter for non-Tesla EVs. But now Tesla is working with all major automakers to provide owners with a portable NACS-to-CCS adapter for access to the Supercharger network.
Here's what Ford said to customers in an email:
Due to ongoing supply constraints, there is a further delay of your complimentary Fast Charging Adapter. We know this is frustrating. Thank you for your continued patience.
To expedite your adapter delivery, we are rapidly working with our supply base to increase high-quality production. We are confident we will have a solution in the coming weeks. As adapter supply increases, our goal is to work as fast as possible to get your adapter to you.
We will continue to update you on the estimated timing of your adapter. In the meantime, make sure you’re ready to Plug & Charge with Tesla Superchargers by setting your vehicle’s automatic software updates to “On.”
Last year, Ford struck a deal with Tesla to open up its expansive Supercharger network in North America. Ford would first offer Supercharger access to its customers with a NACS to CCS adapter. 2026 onwards, Ford EVs are expected to come with the NACS port built-in. The deal set-off a chain reaction in the industry, with all major U.S. automakers, including GM, Rivian and others following suit.
However, the Tesla-made NACS adapter rollout has been rather slow. Several Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners whose NACS adapter delivery window was June or July claimed that the delivery timeline has been pushed to September. Only some Rivian and Ford owners have received their adapters so far. According to Tesla's website, GM, Volvo, Polestar and Mercedes-Benz are next in line to receive NACS support.
"While we continue to regularly ship adapters (as we have since May), we are unable to share specific numbers or comment on specific customers. I’ll reiterate that we’re sending them out as fast as we can get them and will keep doing so," a Rivian spokesperson told InsideEVs. We also reached out to Ford and Mercedes, who did not respond to our requests for comment.
GM's EV customers were also expected to receive their NACS adapters this year, but that hasn't happened yet. GM responded to our request for comment but didn't mention the exact reason behind the slow rollout.
"We are working as quickly as possible to open up access to the Supercharger Network for our customers and delivering a seamless charging experience is our priority," a GM spokesperson told InsideEVs. "GM continues to expand charging infrastructure throughout North America, with GM drivers currently having access to more than 195,000 chargers. We believe that access to charging is the best way serve our customers and grow the EV market."
According to Bloomberg, Tesla is manufacturing the NACS-to-CCS adapters at its facility in Buffalo, New York and shipping them to partnering automakers. Tesla fired its entire 500-member Supercharger team early this year as it pivots to AI and robotaxis. Thousands of workers at its Buffalo factory were impacted by the layoffs as well, Reuters reported. Since then, Tesla rehired many of those who were fired.
The delay in bringing the NACS-to-CCS adapters, however, is impacting customer's buying decisions. On Rivian Forums, several Rivian owners claim that they received their NACS to CCS adapters about two weeks after getting an email notification from Rivian.
But Ford owners are upset. "Fast charging has always been hit or miss in the Northeast where I live," David Zachow, a Ford F-150 Lightning owner told InsideEVs. "Tesla Supercharging has been a gold standard for reliability of long distance travel. [The adapter deal] was a major factor in purchasing a F-150 Lightning which I did less than a week after the deal was announced," he added.
It's unclear what the actual roadblock is in rolling out the NACS adapters. But until that happens en masse, many owners such as Zachow may have to pause their summer road-tripping plans.
