On Thursday, Ford said it had reached an agreement with Tesla to allow owners of its electric vehicles to use up to more than 12,000 Tesla superchargers in North America by early 2024.。

Car companies have always been competitive, and so have Tesla and Ford.。In fact, as early as last November, Tesla said it would open its proprietary charging design to other automakers and charging network operators.。The partnership between the two automakers made Ford the first major automaker to adopt Tesla's proprietary charging standards, and now Ford can use the largest high-speed supercharger network in the United States。

The adapter developed by Tesla will provide access to the Tesla V3 supercharger for Ford electric vehicles equipped with a Combined Charging System (CCS) port。Starting in 2025, Ford will equip future electric vehicles with Tesla's own charging standards, and can directly use Tesla superchargers without adapters。

Farley believes that Ford should be the first to establish partnerships with new companies such as Tesla, NIO or BYD, saying that "working with competitors in an unnatural way。I think you're going to see Ford do that, because that's the type of company we have.。"

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an online conversation with Ford CEO Jim Farley on Twitter: "The idea is that we don't want the Tesla Supercharger network to be like a walled garden.。We want it to support electrification and sustainable transport.。"。

"We like the location, we like the reliability, your routing software, the ease of connectors, the reliability," Farley said.。Farley was referring to the Japanese bullet train.。"We have learned a lot。"

It is reported that as of now, the number of Tesla superchargers has reached 17,711, accounting for about 60% of the total number of fast chargers in the United States. These fast charging piles can increase electric vehicles in just one hour or less. Hundreds of miles of cruising range。

In addition, earlier on Thursday, Farley also said at the Morgan Stanley Forum, "In terms of infrastructure, I think there is some room for cooperation between auto companies, which is completely unnatural for us."。"

Farley added, "I think we need to start - I mean, I think the first step is to cooperate in a way that we don't have, probably with new electric car brands and traditional old companies.。"。For example, Farley called the industry's charging network having multiple plugs "completely ridiculous" and "we can't even agree on what plug to use."。"

Earlier this month, Musk revealed the news vaguely, tweeting: "I think Ford's overall strategy on electric vehicles is wise.。Its electric F-150 (Lightning) is in high demand.。"

And the billionaire also defended Ford's losses in the electric car business.。"The profit margin of the new car line is always high, especially when there are major changes in technology.。"

This year, as the Biden administration seeks to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to expand the charging network, Tesla has begun to move beyond its proprietary connectors and incorporate rival CCS standards at some of its U.S. charging stations.。