All-New Ford EV Tesla Adapter Seems Pretty Robust: Video

The Blue Oval signed an agreement with Tesla that has since granted Ford EV owners access to the latter company’s Supercharger network some time ago, though those owners need an adapter to do so – one that enables their Combined Charging Standard (CCS) plugs to utilize Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) chargers. Ford EV owners were able to secure a free adapter from the automaker for a limited time, though a certain batch of those adapters suffered issues that prompted FoMoCo to pivot and team up with Lecron to develop a new one. Now that those are beginning to roll out, the early prognosis seems to be that they’re rather robust.

In this video from the State of Charge YouTube channel, we get an in-depth look at the new Ford EV adapter, as well as a comparison between it and the existing Voltrex unit sold by Lectron. As noted in the clip, the new co-developed unit is officially endorsed by Ford, and it’s fairly similar to the Vortex, albeit with some noticeable differences. Aside from the Ford logo, the external shape is slightly different, it has a thicker locking pin, and there’s also a tab in the DC pins of the new unit that prevents the NACS connector from being released while the vehicle is plugged in.

Overall, it’s pretty clear that the new Ford/Lectron unit is designed to be a bit beefier than the existing Voltrex piece, giving owners a tighter connection, which could have been designed to prevent potential issues down the road. That makes perfect sense after that previous bad batch of adapters were found to potentially cause reduced charging speeds over time, and in some cases, charge port damage, which prompted Ford to replace all of them.

Currently listed as out of stock on Ford’s website, the new Lectron fast charging adapter retails for $200. It is worth noting that the Lectron Ford Fast Charging Adapter is rated for up to 500 amps and 1,000 volts, but it can’t be used on every NACS charger – in fact, it isn’t compatible with Level 1 and 2 AC chargers, which includes Tesla Destination units and home chargers that utilize the NACS format. Otherwise, the adapter functions precisely the same as the previous unit.