Tesla to earn billions from charging partnerships with Ford, others

As of Thursday, the owner Ford North American Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning electric vehicles can finally be charged using Tesla Superchargers.

Ford CEO Jim Farley writes in the post LinkedIn said the charging partnership involving the use of fast-charging adapters should “improve the EV ownership experience for Ford EV drivers,” noting that “I’ve tested it myself and it works great.”

Tesla also reached a similar agreement with Tesla General MotorsAnnounced in June, GM customers will have access to more than 12,000 Tesla fast chargers in the United States and Canada. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said at the time that the company expected to save up to $400 million on planned investments to build electric vehicle charging stations.

The partnerships mark a shift in strategy from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who for years has touted the exclusivity of Tesla’s charging network and his company’s ability to build reliable charging locations that will enable consumers to No need to wait in long lines. Becoming the charging standard will require Tesla to invest heavily in technology and business development.

But Tesla has a lot to gain from partnering with other companies.

Sam Fiorani, vice president of global forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, said these efforts will ultimately bring significant economic benefits to Tesla, including environmental credits and charging costs.

Currently, Tesla operates about one-third of charging stations in the United States. Even if domestic BEV adoption slows and the number of EVs is smaller than the government and many automakers planned six months ago, “Tesla could still reap $6 billion in revenue,” Fiorani wrote in a letter The email said its expanded charging business will bring in $12 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

While Tesla may lose some customers to other brands as charging becomes easier, there are other reasons why car buyers are flocking to Tesla, AutoForecast said.

“People buying Teslas typically don’t cross-shop at a Kia, Ford or Mercedes-Benz dealer because they just want a Tesla,” Fiorani wrote. “Competition will continue. Tesla will inevitably lose some sales to competitors, but brand loyalty means the vast majority of owners will return to Tesla with little or no comparison.”

Allowing other automakers to tap into its charging network also provides Tesla with some federal funding under President Biden’s inflation-cutting bill.

“Tesla is not afraid to exploit government regulations to generate revenue and has been trying to exploit every possible revenue source for most of its existence,” Fiorani wrote.

Tesla did not respond to a request for more information.

Tesla reports fee-based revenue for its “total automotive and services and other segment revenue.” The company has not said whether it will report revenue from non-Tesla vehicles using its charging network.

William Navarro Jameson, head of strategic charging initiatives at Tesla, writes in the post Reaching this goal with Ford will require extensive “interoperability testing,” along with creating all necessary hardware and software integrations and resolving legal issues, the company said on LinkedIn on Thursday.

“Over the past 18 months, many pieces of this puzzle have been put together,” he wrote.

On social media, Tesla promoted its open charging network in North America and posted a link to attract more retailers to equip their facilities with Superchargers.

watch: Tesla charging connector expected to become North American electric vehicle standard