I respectfully disagree with your assessment here, Tim. It seems like the thrust of it relies on the argument that Ford’s decision makes buying an EV more confusing for customers because there’s not a settled standard. I think your point about the Tesla standard not having bidirectional charging is a valid one, too. But ultimately I think Ford made this decision because it believes it will speed up EV adoption, which is another way to say it will increase sales of Ford’s own EVs. The supercharger network is one of the biggest advantages to owning a Tesla, and now it will be a similar advantage for Ford EV owners. It’s true, this means the charging standard is still not set, but we may be seeing NACS taking a significant step to becoming the winning standard. I’ll be interested to see if third-party companies will be allowed to open up charging stations using NACS. After all, what’s the significance of every other automaker using the CCS standard if the charging experience is so bad that’s it a deterrent to buying an EV?
Reading the comments below, what jumps out at me is the idea that a lot of the comments assume that the people making these decisions have some degree of rationality in doing so. that is just not how business works. Sadly, but truly. Basically, the stupidest solution typically has some externality that, in some dumb person’s mind, trumps the not-quite-as-stupid solution, on up the chain. This is the reason that standards are so incredibly hard. it’s just way too soon for market drivers to be making a play (see: USB-C, and the time that took).
Not that any of the arguments here are bad, mind you. But bad arguments dominate market decisions. I leased a Tesla for three years; I had had a plug-in Prius before that. Just on physical use, the Tesla plug was way superior. Although near the end of the lease, it was getting a little dodgy.
In the end, I rarely use public chargers (live in a rural area; charge at home or die). So I’m not the best on this. But give me lots of electrons, a sturdy smooth operating plug, and I’m good to go. I would be shocked if reasonable standardization happens sooner than give years; Tesla/Musk are wildcards, anything could happen there.
Multiple automakers using the “Tesla” standard means more accountability on Tesla to deliver a solution that works for more people. The speculation about Ford dropping different connectors, or Tesla doing X, Y, or Z is just that.
Also, the incumbents DID create charging standards more than a decade ago…and they a) couldn’t get everyone to agree b) largely fn suck.
I respectfully disagree with your assessment here, Tim. It seems like the thrust of it relies on the argument that Ford’s decision makes buying an EV more confusing for customers because there’s not a settled standard. I think your point about the Tesla standard not having bidirectional charging is a valid one, too. But ultimately I think Ford made this decision because it believes it will speed up EV adoption, which is another way to say it will increase sales of Ford’s own EVs. The supercharger network is one of the biggest advantages to owning a Tesla, and now it will be a similar advantage for Ford EV owners. It’s true, this means the charging standard is still not set, but we may be seeing NACS taking a significant step to becoming the winning standard. I’ll be interested to see if third-party companies will be allowed to open up charging stations using NACS. After all, what’s the significance of every other automaker using the CCS standard if the charging experience is so bad that’s it a deterrent to buying an EV?
Reading the comments below, what jumps out at me is the idea that a lot of the comments assume that the people making these decisions have some degree of rationality in doing so. that is just not how business works. Sadly, but truly. Basically, the stupidest solution typically has some externality that, in some dumb person’s mind, trumps the not-quite-as-stupid solution, on up the chain. This is the reason that standards are so incredibly hard. it’s just way too soon for market drivers to be making a play (see: USB-C, and the time that took).
Not that any of the arguments here are bad, mind you. But bad arguments dominate market decisions. I leased a Tesla for three years; I had had a plug-in Prius before that. Just on physical use, the Tesla plug was way superior. Although near the end of the lease, it was getting a little dodgy.
In the end, I rarely use public chargers (live in a rural area; charge at home or die). So I’m not the best on this. But give me lots of electrons, a sturdy smooth operating plug, and I’m good to go. I would be shocked if reasonable standardization happens sooner than give years; Tesla/Musk are wildcards, anything could happen there.
This is just the beginning. $F will probably license FSD eventually to replace their Blues Clues.
Multiple automakers using the “Tesla” standard means more accountability on Tesla to deliver a solution that works for more people. The speculation about Ford dropping different connectors, or Tesla doing X, Y, or Z is just that.
Also, the incumbents DID create charging standards more than a decade ago…and they a) couldn’t get everyone to agree b) largely fn suck.
No way Elon is going to add bidirectional charging while also selling solar power. Ford just gave away one huge selling point.