Jim Farley Discusses Switch to NACS

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[kltye]

Not sure why Farley didn't call up EA/EVgo/ChargePoint/whatever CEO and ask them wtf is going on with their network, and what it would take for it to suck less.

Secondly, not sure why everyone is going on and on about charge port locations. V4 superchargers have longer cords, so problem solved there. Car designs take years to come out, so by the time the next gen stuff is launched, V4 SCs will be much more widespread.

 

[SWO]

Nothing really revealing in the conversation but it was interesting how he was playing coy regarding the first vehicle to get the NACS port. It wouldn't be too revealing if he said Mach-E/Lightning/Something new.

I wonder if the answer is something more complex like...the vehicles will have both. It makes some sense to do it that way as a fall-back if Tesla plays funny games with their network in the future.

 

[KlueBat]

Really cool interview! Not a ton of new "facts" as it were about the charger, but it was cool to get the story about how Ford came around to be the first company to adopt the NACS standard for their customers.

 

[Thunderbuck]

Nothing really revealing in the conversation but it was interesting how he was playing coy regarding the first vehicle to get the NACS port. It wouldn't be too revealing if he said Mach-E/Lightning/Something new.

I wonder if the answer is something more complex like...the vehicles will have both. It makes some sense to do it that way as a fall-back if Tesla plays funny games with their network in the future.

It's worth noting that the phrasing has always been "new vehicles starting in 2025". We can hope that this means the Mach-E and Lightning will get it actually IN 2025, but I don't take it as a guarantee.

I'm sure we'll see significant refreshes for both the Mach-E and Lightning, but I don't think they'll get NACS until then, and we don't know for sure that will happen for '25.

 

[kindofblue]

The SC network access will be a game changer for EV acceptance.

 

[AliRafiee]

How can Tesla not know a Ford just plugged in? The car has to do a handshake with the charger, and it would need some sort of identification to know who to charge.

Also, I don’t find Jim Farley to be very authentic

 

[timbop]

Not sure why Farley didn't call up EA/EVgo/ChargePoint/whatever CEO and ask them wtf is going on with their network, and what it would take for it to suck less.

I would bet your house that he did, although he probably phrased it differently.

Just telling someone they suck doesn't automatically mean that years old design and vendor selection decisions can be changed immediately. Everybody wants to complain about Ford and Tesla for the cord length issue, but the real culprits are the CCS networks that are badly managed with subpar equipment.

 

[timbop]

How can Tesla not know a Ford just plugged in? The car has to do a handshake with the charger, and it would need some sort of identification to know who to charge.

Also, I don’t find Jim Farley to be very authentic

They know a Ford plugged in, but they don't know whose Ford it is or any other PII/metadata.

 

[smunro622]

I would be happy with CCS for a few yes and fix OTA and other software issues....this is all a tease like your favorite shows ....to be continued so you buy the next one

 

[Tampamike]

I figured it was the road trip that did it. Then, the decision to go Tesla meant the charge adapter had to be free.
But, “We had to have good OTA’s?” I’d agree on the premise but down here in the trenches it doesn’t look that way, IMHO.
I’m glad to see his EV enthusiasm and hoping it catches on more. Good interview Tom.

 

[SWO]

How can Tesla not know a Ford just plugged in? The car has to do a handshake with the charger, and it would need some sort of identification to know who to charge.

Also, I don’t find Jim Farley to be very authentic

That's not what he's talking about. He's saying no PII (CC info, name, address, etc.) is being shared during the P&C process. That's why he made the caveat about using the tesla app.

 

[timbop]

I’m glad to see his EV enthusiasm and hoping it catches on more.

Agreed. I know the Dodge announcement was pandering to their base but that "the government forced us to make EV's so we snuck a muscle car past them" is just nauseating. I guess the ends justify the means if that's what they need to do to sell them, but I don't like the tone.

 

[AliRafiee]

They know a Ford plugged in, but they don't know whose Ford it is or any other PII/metadata.

That’s not what he said. He said they don’t even know that it’s a Ford so anonymity doesn’t even come into play.

 

[mdolan92869]

That’s not what he said. He said they don’t even know that it’s a Ford so anonymity doesn’t even come into play.

If they get the VIN during the handshake, how would they not know it’s a Ford? From my understanding, only Fords can connect, not GM, not VW, etc. And that must come from the VIN decoding, right? I can’t imagine a giant database of all valid VINs to look at.

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