Will Tesla Chargers Power the Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium On a Southern Road Trip? We Found Out

The Mach-E Premium version I drove was the eAWD model with the standard battery pack, which means 230 miles of range, give or take a full charge; the optional 91kWh extended-range pack boosts the total range to 300 miles per charge. The 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium is the next step above the base Select trim, and comes standard with 72kWh battery and rear-wheel drive.

My journey would be nearly twice the range of the standard pack, which meant stopping more than a few times along the way to and from my dad’s house, and at least on one occasion, coming from the Nationals.

Ford was not only kind enough to pay for all of the charging I would need along the way to and from Louisville, but the automaker also sent along a pre-production unit of its North American Charging Standard adapter (NACS; a.k.a. Tesla) for me to use at most Tesla Superchargers I come across.

This would make charging the Ford Mustang Mach-E easier, but it also presents a few other issues that I discovered along the way. Learning curve more than challenge, but I had a few things to figure out.

Ford put a lot of thought into the FordPass app so that Mach-E drivers can find chargers and plan routes. The app shows that there is a Supercharger array not far from my home in Virginia. However, it also showed that this array wasn’t compatible with the adapter. Seemed odd, because the array is the same type of Supercharger most people are familiar with, but software updates and other back-end things may not yet be ready for charging vehicles other than Teslas. Either way, my first charge with Tesla had to wait until I landed at an array in Bristol, Virginia.

Then, there is charging at the Supercharger itself. Tesla is rolling out the V4 version of its charging stations, which come with long cables to reach any NACS-compatible vehicle. Alas, none of those were available during my trip.

Instead, I discovered the current versions have cables that are too short to reach the Mach-E’s charging port on the left front fender, making it difficult to reach when parked head-in to the charger designated for that spot. According to Tesla, the best way to resolve the issue is by either double-parking (which Tesla says is okay to do) or parking in the next stall over in order for the cable to reach the port with the adapter. The automaker also noted it was working on an extension cable due out in winter of 2024. Maybe Ford and other NACS automakers should make one, too, though.

As for charging with the adapter, it was fine. All worked as intended. You won’t be able to use the adapter at Tesla’s Destination Superchargers (the ones at hotels, for example), but as long as the FordPass app says its compatible with your Mach-E (or F-150 Lightning), you’ll be able to charge at nearly all of the over-12,000 Superchargers across the United States and Canada.

Back at home, I’ve no way to charge an EV; much like any other vehicle I drive, I have to refuel at a charging station some distance away. At my dad’s house, though, I could finally use the included mobile home charging kit to charge the Mach-E: overnight at home.

However, my dad’s 120-volt outlet isn’t the kind to deliver a full charge within 8 to 10 hours; the Mach-E will gain about 3 miles of range per hour of charging. Had he installed a level 2 240V outlet, I would be able to fully charge the Mach-E over night. Using the 110V outlet it would take the entire weekend to bring 100% capacity to the electric horse. Thus, upon leaving the Nationals after my first day, I headed over to the Ford Charge station next to a Ford trucks dealership to give the pack about 85% charge, using the 5% to carry me back to Dad’s house to finish charging to 100%.

For all of the interstate travel I experienced to and from Louisville, I turned over control of the drive to Ford’s BlueCruise active driving assistance system. All I had to do was activate the adaptive cruise control, wait for BlueCruise to come on, and put my arms down.

BlueCruise will work on 97% of all controlled-access highways in the United States and Canada – around 130,000 miles – so long as you keep your eyes on the road (a small camera on the top of the steering wheel monitors your eyes; BlueCruise will know if you stop looking), the lines on the road are where they’re supposed to be, and the weather is good.

One thing to know about the NSRA Street Rod Nationals is since 2010, there has been a rolling 30-year minimum age restriction for street rods; for 2024, the youngest machines to qualify come from the 1994 model year. Thus, the Mach-E will have to wait until 2054 at the earliest to join the festivities in the massive parking lots surrounding the Kentucky Expo Center.

The Mach-E might not be alone by then, though. While the aftermarket for the electric crossover pales in comparison to its gas-powered namesake, there may come a day when the V8s fall silent, replaced by EV conversions amid changing regulations for emissions and related concerns; General Motors already has one solution available for street rodders with its eCrate EV conversion package.

It was a successful journey through country not known for EVs and or a landscape dotted with required charging stations. But being able to charge at Tesla stations in addition to other EV chargers makes it much easier, and even, feasible. However, as it stands for me right now, replacing my 1997 Toyota RAV4 with an EV is not an option.

If it were, the Mach-E is one of the better ones out there, especially for those who want an EV but don’t want to deal with Tesla’s baggage. With the Tesla-created NACS charger becoming the standard, and with 2025 and beyond Mach-Es coming equipped with the NACS port already baked in, now might be the time to pick up this ponified electric crossover. Just opt for the extended-range battery pack if you’re a long-distance wanderer like me, and minimize range anxiety.