Ford CEO Jim Farley Discusses The Company's Switch To The NACS (J3400) Connector For EV Charging

Summary

福特CEO吉姆·法利在一次访谈中讨论了福特决定将其电动车从北美的J1772和CCS1插头过渡到特斯拉的充电插头，以及如何说服埃隆·马斯克允许福特车辆使用特斯拉超级充电网络。他还提到了福特将免费提供适配器给客户，以及特斯拉不会共享福特客户的数据。

Takeaways

• 🚗 福特CEO吉姆·法利（Jim Farley）宣布福特将从北美当前使用的J1772插头和CCS1插头过渡到特斯拉的充电插头，即北美充电标准。
• 🔌 福特的这一转变使得其车辆能够接入特斯拉在北美广泛且可靠的超级充电网络。
• 📅 从2025年开始，福特将开始在其电动车上安装北美充电标准插座，但在此之前，车主需要使用适配器来访问特斯拉超级充电站。
• 🔄 法利表示，这一决策是基于客户体验而非品牌竞争，他个人的经历和对充电数据的分析是推动这一决策的关键因素。
• 🤝 福特与特斯拉的合作始于法利与埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的直接沟通，尽管最初特斯拉对此不感兴趣，但最终被说服。
• 🆓 福特决定免费提供适配器给所有客户，法利认为这是对品牌忠诚度的投资，也是提升客户体验的重要一步。
• 📈 法利相信，一旦车辆开始配备新的充电标准插座，将会重新审视充电端口的位置设计。
• 🚫 特斯拉不会共享通过福特Pass App进行的充电数据，只有当用户选择使用特斯拉充电App时，特斯拉才能获取相关数据。
• 📊 法利提到，电动车销售放缓可能与消费者等待配备新充电标准插座的车型有关，但他个人认为价格因素是主要原因。
• 🔄 法利强调，这一行业变革是一个长期过程，但他相信未来几年内，整个行业将因此变得更加成熟和完善。
• 🌟 法利对特斯拉在合作中所表现出的努力表示感谢，并期待未来软件更新和超级充电网络的进一步改进。

Q & A

福特公司为什么决定转换到特斯拉的充电插头标准？

福特公司决定转换到特斯拉的充电插头标准是因为他们认识到特斯拉的充电网络在北美是最普遍和最可靠的，而且特斯拉的技术在充电方面表现更优越，包括更好的软件表现和更高的首次连接成功率。

Jim Farley个人的哪次经历促使他决定推动这一转变？

Jim Farley个人在与家人开车前往Lake Tahoe度假的过程中，意识到特斯拉超级充电网络的便利性，这促使他决定推动福特公司使用特斯拉的充电标准。

福特公司与特斯拉达成协议的过程中遇到了哪些挑战？

最初，当福特通过Doug Fields联系特斯拉时，特斯拉并不感兴趣。后来，经过Jim Farley与Elon Musk的直接沟通，以及两家公司团队的努力，最终达成了协议。

福特公司提供免费适配器给客户的决定是怎样形成的？

尽管公司内部对是否应该免费提供适配器存在争议，但Jim Farley坚持认为，为了提升客户体验并维护品牌忠诚度，应当免费向客户提供适配器。

特斯拉能否获取使用其超级充电器的福特车辆的数据？

只有当客户使用特斯拉的充电应用程序时，特斯拉才能获取数据。如果客户通过福特Pass应用程序进行充电，所有数据都将保留在福特内部，特斯拉无法访问。

福特计划从哪一年开始将特斯拉的充电端口作为其电动车的标准配置？

福特计划从2025年开始逐步将特斯拉的充电端口作为其电动车的标准配置。

福特公司决定更改充电端口位置的原因是什么？

福特公司认为，随着充电标准的转变，他们需要重新考虑未来车辆的充电端口位置，以确保充电过程的便利性和高效性。

福特与特斯拉的协议中是否包含任何有关数据共享的内容？

协议规定，除非客户使用特斯拉的应用进行充电，否则福特客户的数据不会被分享给特斯拉。

福特计划如何解决现有的充电线长度问题？

虽然目前尚未详细说明，但福特承认充电线长度是一个问题，并表示将在未来的车辆设计中考虑到这一点，可能会调整充电端口的位置。

福特转向特斯拉充电标准对整个汽车行业有何影响？

福特的这一决定可能会促使其他汽车制造商也转向特斯拉的充电标准，因为这将为他们的客户提供更广泛的充电网络访问，同时也推动了充电基础设施的统一。

Outlines

00:00

🚗 福特CEO宣布重大变革

福特CEO Jim Farley宣布福特将从北美当前使用的J1772插头和CCS1插头转变为特斯拉的充电插头，即北美充电标准。这一转变将使福特的电动车能够使用特斯拉在北美广泛且可靠的超级充电网络。福特已经开始为车主提供适配器，以便在特斯拉超级充电站充电。此外，Jim Farley还接受了采访，讨论了如何说服特斯拉允许福特使用其超级充电站，尽管最初被拒绝。

05:03

🛣️ 个人经历促成决策

Jim Farley在一次家庭旅行中亲身体验到了特斯拉超级充电站的便利性，这促使他决定改变福特电动车的充电标准。他意识到特斯拉的充电网络对于消费者来说是一个巨大的优势。这次个人经历让他深刻理解了消费者的需求，并最终推动了福特与特斯拉的合作。

10:05

🔌 充电端口位置的考量

Jim Farley提到，福特将重新考虑电动车的充电端口位置，以适应新的充电标准。他强调，尽管短期内会使用适配器，但长期计划是将新的充电标准端口直接安装在车辆上。他还提到，福特计划从2025年开始在新车型上实施这一变化。

15:06

🎁 免费适配器的决定

Jim Farley解释了福特决定为所有电动车主免费提供特斯拉充电适配器的原因。他认为，作为品牌，向客户收取适配器费用是不合逻辑的。他视此举为对未来产品周期的忠诚投资，相信如果产品和体验良好，客户将会继续选择福特。他还提到，尽管公司内部对此有辩论，但他从一开始就坚持免费提供适配器。

20:06

📈 电动车销售放缓的讨论

Jim Farley讨论了电动车销售放缓的现象，他认为这可能与消费者期待2025年后电动车型将配备新的充电标准端口有关。但他个人更倾向于认为价格和可负担性是影响销售的主要因素。他还提到，尽管销售增长速度可能不如预期，但福特的电动车销售仍在增长。

25:08

🤝 与特斯拉的合作

Jim Farley分享了福特与特斯拉合作的过程，包括最初被拒绝以及他亲自与Elon Musk沟通的经历。他强调了特斯拉在合作中的积极态度和双方为实现软件更新和超级充电网络改进所做的努力。他还提到，特斯拉不会分享通过福特Pass App进行充电的福特客户数据。

30:10

🚀 行业变革的推动者

Jim Farley被赞扬为推动北美汽车行业变革的关键人物。他通过个人经历和对客户需求的深刻理解，推动了福特向特斯拉充电标准的转变。这一决策不仅影响了福特，也促使整个行业跟进，预计将在本十年末实现所有在北美销售的新电动车都将配备新的充电端口。

Keywords

💡Jim Farley

Jim Farley是福特汽车公司的首席执行官。在视频中，他讨论了福特决定将其电动汽车的充电标准从北美的J1772插头和CCS1插头转变为特斯拉的充电插头，以及这一转变背后的原因和影响。

💡特斯拉超级充电网络

特斯拉超级充电网络是特斯拉公司建立的高速充电站网络，以其快速充电能力和广泛的覆盖范围而闻名。福特决定让其电动汽车能够使用这个网络，需要通过适配器来实现。

💡充电标准

充电标准是指电动汽车充电接口和充电协议的统一规范。在视频中，福特宣布将从J1772和CCS1标准转变为特斯拉的充电标准，这是为了提高充电便利性和兼容性。

💡适配器

适配器是用来实现不同充电标准之间兼容性的设备。在视频中，福特车主需要使用适配器才能在特斯拉的超级充电站为他们的车辆充电。

💡客户体验

客户体验指的是客户在使用产品或服务过程中的感受和满意度。在视频中，Jim Farley强调了改进客户体验是福特决定改变充电标准的主要动机。

💡数据共享

数据共享是指不同公司或组织之间共享用户数据的做法。在视频中，Jim Farley确认特斯拉不会共享福特车主的数据，除非车主使用特斯拉的充电应用程序。

💡电动汽车市场

电动汽车市场是指涉及电动汽车生产、销售和服务的行业领域。视频中提到福特作为电动汽车市场的第二大参与者，其决策对整个行业有着重要影响。

💡充电端口位置

充电端口位置指的是电动汽车上充电端口的安装位置。在视频中，Jim Farley提到未来可能会重新考虑充电端口的位置，以提高充电便利性。

💡行业转型

行业转型指的是整个行业在技术、产品或服务方面的根本性变化。视频中，福特的决策被视为推动整个汽车行业向更高效充电标准转型的关键一步。

💡North American charging standard

北美充电标准是指在北美地区使用的电动汽车充电接口和协议的统一规范。在视频中，福特宣布将采用这一标准，以提高电动汽车的充电兼容性和便利性。

Highlights

福特CEO吉姆·法利宣布福特将从北美的J1772插头和CCS1插头过渡到特斯拉的充电插头，即北美充电标准。

福特的这一转变使其车辆能够接入特斯拉在北美广泛且可靠的超级充电网络。

福特是首家获得特斯拉超级充电网络接入权的公司，其他公司如Rivian、通用汽车和沃尔沃等也将陆续获得接入权。

福特计划从2025年开始在其电动车上安装北美充电标准插座，但在此之前，车主需要使用适配器来接入特斯拉的充电网络。

吉姆·法利的个人经历，特别是与家人一起前往太浩湖的旅行，是他决定改变充电标准的关键因素。

福特决定免费提供适配器给所有客户，这是对品牌忠诚度的一种投资，也是为了提供更好的车主体验。

特斯拉不会共享通过福特Pass App进行的充电会话数据，确保了用户数据的隐私。

吉姆·法利认为，特斯拉的超级充电网络为福特车主提供了显著的优势，尤其是在长途旅行中。

福特的这一决策可能会对其他电动车制造商产生压力，迫使他们也提供适配器或改变充电标准。

吉姆·法利与埃隆·马斯克的直接沟通是促成特斯拉超级充电网络对福特开放的关键。

福特的电动车销售增长强劲，尽管市场上有关电动车销售放缓的讨论。

吉姆·法利强调，福特的长期目标不仅仅是提供适配器，而是彻底切换到新的充电标准。

福特对于电动车的未来发展充满信心，计划在未来几年内推出更多令人惊喜的新车型。

吉姆·法利认为，电动车行业的未来将会更加注重提供更好的客户体验和车辆性能的持续改进。

福特的这一转变得到了业界的认可，被视为推动北美电动车行业发展的重要一步。

福特CEO吉姆·法利在采访中展现了其对电动车行业的热情和对客户体验的重视。

Transcripts

about a year ago Ford CEO Jim Farley

literally rocked the automotive world

when he announced the brand would be

transitioning its electric vehicles from

the charging standard currently used in

North America the j1772 plug and the

ccs1 plug to Tesla's plug or what Tesla

called the North American charging

standard and in doing so get Ford's

Vehicles access to to thousands of Tesla

superchargers the most prolific and

reliable charging Network in North

America now that access began last week

on February 29th and Ford provided me

one of the adapters so I can charge my

F-150 Lightning on that day I have a

video on it up here on the channel I'm

going to drop a link in the description

I also requested and was granted an

interview with Ford's CEO Jim Farley one

of only two interviews that Jim did

during the week of this opening of the

supercharger Network for Ford vehicles

and in that interview coming up next

we're going to discuss charge port

location data sharing and how Jim

convinced Elon to allow Ford to access

Tesla superchargers after they were

originally denied so if you're

interested in this topic you're going to

want to hang around for the next 20

minutes you know not going to want to

miss this

[Music]

one before we jump into the interview

let me provide a little more background

information for those that aren't really

familiar with this topic now after

Farley announced that Ford would be

transitioning to the North American

charging standard pretty much every

other major OEM announced the same

however they all have slightly different

paths to this most of the men

manufacturers have announced that

starting in

2025 they would begin to install the

North American charging standard inlets

on their electric vehicles not all of

them some of them they're going to phase

that in and that's Ford's position also

starting 2025 they're going to begin to

put the ports and their native port on

the vehicle however until then these

companies still want their vehicles to

be able to access Tesla superchargers so

you're going to have to do it through an

adapter which Tesla is is going to

manufacture actually they've already

started manufacturing them now there's

going to be thirdparty adapters to and I

have some videos out on that but we're

really just going to talk about the

Tesla adapter right now which is what

Ford is giving to their customers you're

going to learn a little bit about how

that came about in the video here today

so starting in 2025 many electric

vehicles are going to have the Tesla as

the native Port but until then for the

companies that have this deal with uh

Tesla you have to use an adapter in

order to access the network and as of

now Ford is the only company that is

allowed to access the network it's going

to probably happen one at a time from

what I understand rivan might be next

after that General Motors and then Volvo

and post pstar I don't know about the

rest of the companies after that but it

seems like that's going to be the uh I

guess the order in which that these

companies get access to the SE Tesla

Supercharger network but they'll all

need to use an adapter until their

vehicles begin to ship with the native

KNX Port which is going to be the

earliest will be 2025 okay I just wanted

to provide a little bit of background

data for those that aren't familiar with

this subject let's jump into the

interview with

Jim state of charge is powered by CIT

after I've helped you decide which

electric vehicle charging equipment

you're going to buy Follow the link in

the description of my videos and let the

EV charging installation professionals

at CIT install it okay well we're here

with Jim Farley uh Jim thanks so much

for coming back on I really appreciate

it let's jump right into this you got it

so first off uh I know this had to be a

tough decision uh you know you must have

toiled over o over this for a while

because I I know some people we're going

to view you transitioning to the KNX

connector as you know capitulating to

Tesla you know we we knew that was going

to be some people's view of it and um I

know you've always said this was about

the customer more than the brand but

could you tell us you know what led to

the decision was it the charge angels

that you guys had came back and said

look this just isn't working you need to

do something better was it customer

feedback how did you come to the

decision to be the the company to say

look it's just not working we're going

to be the first ones to come out and

make this

transition I see uh I mean I think

personally the moment I

realized that I had a scratch the

itch

was I took a vacation to Lake Tahoe with

my family we drove back to

Monteray and my kids kept saying to me

dad you know there's another

supercharger Network oh that's the Tesla

charging place and the Reas why I found

that out is because we kept we we

stopped twice and the Chargers were at

like Harris Ranch or places where you

could stop to get something to eat and

the kids were you know just wantan a bio

break frankly or go to the bathroom or

get some candy or something and when we

were there they were like Dad we could

charge we could top up because we almost

didn't make it back to Monteray and um I

I just realized

wow like that is a big Advantage for

them um I had always intellectually

understood but I didn't really

understand it you know as a consumer and

when I got back I I talked to Doug

Fields who had been at

Tesla and I said what do you think like

would they even be open to it and so he

had contacts that he had worked with so

he called and they said nah it's not

very not very interesting to them and um

and then we just kept talking about it

and the data started to come in about

how many broken charges there were what

the weight times and the real game Cher

on the data side was when we when we saw

the first first time connect data which

for the kind of third party sites is

around 70% is the best and we're I think

the best and that was like 70% of the

time you know the customer could just

pull up Char you know plug in figure out

their payment and then everything would

work fine but 30% of the time it

wouldn't work and the person would have

to take the CH you know plug out put it

back in or reinitialize start over again

and that was shocking to us and and Doug

was not

surprised um coming from Tesla he he

knew this that Tesla's internal Target

was like 98% or 99% first time charged

so I guess it was you know personal

experience and then more curiosity and

then talking to Doug then seeing the

data coming off the vehicles and knowing

that our first charge percent was not

competitive with Tesla it became pretty

clear pretty quickly that you know we

could continue to kind of be arrogant

and keep our head in the sand or we

could really call them and say look we

really want to do this um and and that's

that's what happened so uh I think iy

actually reached out to Elon personally

and said you know I know you're Mission

build company I know you don't know much

about me and but you know we're number

two in the EV market now this was like

two years ago

and you know if you're Mission driven

and the number two player albeit a

fraction of yours comes to you and says

like we'd be willing to switch formats

in our future products uh as long as you

would give access in the interim with an

adapter you know are you game you know

because for us it seems weird that if

you're Mission driven why you would say

no and he thought about it and then he's

like yeah I think we could probably make

that work Jim and then you know then it

took a long I I think it took two weeks

to get the contract done which was

pretty world record for us and um and

you know it's not easy thing right I

mean the tech has to work software has

to work software has to validate the

adapter is a legit adapter we got to get

the adapter made and tooled up and and

you know scaled it was it was a pretty

big project both team had to be

committed to making it happen and and we

piic you know

so so I'd say yeah it was it was pretty

it was a bit of an unnatural act on the

surface of it but as soon as we saw the

customers's experience you know there

wasn't much choice but in the end it

kind of had to come down to test of

being willing to do it yeah 100% And you

know it's fascinating to me to hear that

that's how it came I would have imagined

that you crunched you know months of

data from the charging angels and

fielded thousands of customer complaints

and just said you know what this is the

breaking point but the breaking point

was your personal experience driving on

a road trip and I wish more engineers

and people in this field would would

would do that same thing cuz you know it

it it everything looks great on paper

you know but when you but then go go do

it and could you imagine if 30% of the

times you went to a gas station that

pump didn't

work there'd be

riots you'd be just you'd be insens to

be politicians going I expect this to

work in my district you know yeah

totally yeah so totally yeah so and on

that same line um but I would say I

would say the only thing I would just

change a little bit about that is that

Doug like I really trust Doug Fields

like he he really helped me and Marin

get to this decision because he he's

really a unique guy and he knows what

he's talking about

technically yeah yeah so listen one of

the funny things that I you know I live

in breathe charging and uh you know I um

when you made this announcement I

remember laying in bed that night and

saying I imagine what the boardrooms in

all the other companies are doing right

everybody's probably working overnight

they're throwing fits because they all

have to follow Jim now they have to they

have no choice you made the decision for

all these other companies um going into

this did you expect or did you get any

criticism from the other brands did like

Mary barer call you up and start yelling

at you I know it sounds funny but like

that was what was going through my Minds

no so me too by the way um no no one no

one called but like let's put it this

way we were not

surprised when the shoe the other shoe

fell let's put it that way we weren't

surprised I mean you know there's some

tourism in our industry you don't ever

want to be on the wrong side of

customers

yeah yep now it makes makes all the

sense of the world and I'm glad you did

it um so um let's let's tackle a couple

Poss possible issues charge port

location we know that um there there are

some issues you know I have a Ford F150

Lightning and um it's it's it's

difficult for me to reach the cable and

I know the Tesla v4s are going to have

longer cables but where we are right now

it's it's challenging um I've got to

pull right up to like the the Ballard or

the station and try not to hit it and

then it barely reaches is there any

chance that this decision to switch to

next might make you can reconsider

charge location on future

Vehicles

absolutely okay that was that was a

quick

answer I mean you know that's what I

wanted to say at the beginning and may

maybe maybe it was too subtle but you

know we the bigger decision longer term

is going to be that we switch

standards I mean right now it's you know

everything you said it's like we're

we're working around the reality of the

situation

but you know when we looked at the data

it was more like how much better you

know is there is their chord CH chord

design less damageability

um what is this software's performance

on first time to connect um you know all

that stuff we looked at and we we made

the you know we we had talked about

inside the

company for many times you know look

this is a better standard and and

actually if you go back to the intro I I

said that to Elon when we did our

Twitter live or X live whatever it was

called back then um I said you know we

really like the technology I think most

people misinterpreted that I think they

thought I was talking about like the

charge the charging locations for

something that's not what I was talking

about I was actually talking about the

tech it's self the software the the the

cord the reliability of the cord if you

drop it The you know all of that and I

really mean it like our team Doug and

the team really like the tech

itself and so when we say we're gonna

make this

change yesterday was a huge day but

that's not the really big change the

really big change happens when we switch

standard

and that will of course include a relook

at our location okay and talking about

that you know you had said you're going

to begin in 2025 now it's not like

you're going to snap your fingers and

all the EVS you're selling in 2025 are

going to have the uh The The J 3400

Inlet because I would imagine you're

going to phase that in correct me if I'm

wrong um are are you able to say what

might be the first vehicle to come with

the native uh j34

Inlet yes

I'd love to hear

it oh you were asking me to tell you

which will be the first one yeah I said

are you able to say which one is is is

the first vehicle I am able to

physically say that like I could say it

and you would understand it

perfectly I think you're giving me the

runaround

Jim I can't tell you what the the

vehicle is but I I could if I I'm

physically capable of telling you okay

you can't whisper it maybe

no no one will hear it dude I love you

but I can't go that far man I don't want

to give honestly um of course honestly

um our nextg products I think are going

to really surprise people I do not want

to give my competitors one day of

forewarning understood you know you

promised me when we were down in blue

oval City I won't say promise you told

me that you know um that I'm going to be

blown away when I see next and stuff and

and T3 and everything so I'm looking

forward to getting down there again as

you get closer and seeing getting maybe

a little taste of what's going on so

okay we'll move to the next thing you

tell me about your decision to offer the

free adapter because I remember when you

announced this back on

CNBC I immediately reached out to to

Ford comms to my contacts and said is

this true you're going to be giving

these away to all your customers and

they were kind of like oh um I think

maybe Jim might have Jim Jim might have

uh spoke out of you know um and they're

backpedaling and everything so now Jim

so now Jim all my followers reached out

to me they're like it's true we're

getting these adapters and I said no I

reached out to my contexts they said Jim

might have misspoke and then it comes

back and and oh yeah we are giving them

away and I looked bad so um how what

went on with that tell me did you

promise something that wasn't agreed on

but then since you said it you had to

come forward and do it what happened

with the free adapter no I told my team

is going to be free okay well it it got

back to me that I I we we think hold off

because we're not sure that's going to

happen yeah no there was a debate

there's certainly a debate in the

company but I sometimes as a CEO you

need to you need to resolve debates and

uh from the first day I said it's

illogical for us as a brand to do this

and charge people for the adapter now we

we may have production ramping issues so

we'll have to make some choice we have

to have some like auction system on

which who gets the first one or the

second one or the 10,000 one yeah and um

but like I and and there was there was

absolutely a debate like there's a lot

of people the company said you know what

there's a lot of people won't use them

so that'll be

waste uh someone who charges at home and

goes 10 miles a day you know and super

rich um you know but I was just like no

as a brand like every EV customer at

Ford is g to buy another EV from us on

uh if the product's good and the

experience is good so this is this is in

a way this is loyalty investment for the

next cycle of product why would I charge

someone let's say it was $400 or

whatever it's going to be why would I

charge them that and then and then not

saying you know they gave it to me for

free like they really want me to have a

good ownership experience when we

launched Maki we must have said 10 times

the real proof of the pudding is will we

do good OTAs will we send software to

the car will people get blue Cruise a

new version of Blue Cruise will the 0o

to 60 time get better will the you know

range get better over time we always

said like this is going to be what we do

differently than the past 120 years

we're going to make the car better every

day and I I personally felt like it was

it would be really weird to charge a

relatively modest amount of money for

something where people go you know what

Ford did the right thing I'm gonna stick

with Ford yeah that makes sense it was

just a judgment and you know there's

always debates in big companies and and

frankly I never waver from that I have

to say there are many times where I have

changed my mind about a decision or you

know I second guess myself this was not

one of them I knew from the very day we

did this that it was imperative that we

do this for free yeah well it's it it

went all you you got a lot of say street

cred for doing this because the

community is very happy that you're

getting it for free and again you're

putting the pressure on your competitors

because now how does how does how does

you know your your competitor say um oh

no you got to give us you know 300 bucks

for you know and it makes you look

really good so yeah I I mean that's why

we did the I mean we worked really hard

I mean maybe we no one will notice but

we worked really hard on the packaging

of the adapter and the message and like

this is a product launch for us this is

not a small thing this is like a it's

like a mini product launch for us yeah I

like your little handwritten note on the

inside of the box that was that that was

a really nice touch um family company

like you know we I mean you any idea how

much I I mean when I went on my road

trip I like I'm so thankful for the

people to to to buy a

forward um in the EV world so yeah you

know that that that that I mean that's

authentic that's authentic well in that

light talking about people that buy

Fords um you know we've talked about

recent bit of a Slowdown with electric

vehicle sales or maybe they're not

selling as quickly as as some of the

predictions are do you think that this

whole topic is actually part of that

because I've had some of my followers

say Tom I was going to buy an EV from

xbrand Ford and another brand or

whatever but you know what I'm going to

wait till 2025 because I want it to come

with the uh Native j34 uh plug so do you

think that's I I actually do I believe

that's part of what maybe is slowing

sales down a little bit now do you do

you think that's part of it could be I

don't I don't uh that's a good question

I person person Al I think it's more

affordability because um we're you know

we're still growing a lot so uh I

mean lightning and Machi the sales keep

growing and they're like three two or

three years old which is not normally

what happens in the car business so you

know there are more customers out there

but the prices that that we need to

clear that kind of growing volume and

the growth isn't as high as thought but

but but the prices are coming down and

so I I really think when you look at

that the people are buying now are

different than two years ago and they're

considering

hybrid um you know they they they have

more difficulty understanding the

benefits of not going to a gas station

and you know that they're not like you

and me that kind of instantly knew you

know hey the acceleration is going to be

great hey you don't have to go to a gas

station you know we kind of I mean we're

close to it early

doctors yep a lot of other people they

they're just like ah maybe you know not

right now and but oh you want to sell

one okay you better make it the same

price as a hybrid yeah so listen I know

we're up against uh my time limit here I

really appreciate your time I have one

more question for you and this came from

uh my followers I've had quite a few

people ask me about this data um does

Tesla get to share your customers data

like Ford customers that plug into the

superchargers no no okay well that was

that was that was a quick one and I was

going to say if they did was it

Anonymous but no they don't you it's you

that all stays in

Ford uh only scenario is if they use the

tested charging

app right yeah exactly but if you if if

you go through the Ford Pass App and you

know plug and charge and you plug in

that's all yours yeah I I would have not

done the deal that one that's a deal

breaker okay all right listen Jim Farley

uh thanks so much for coming on I really

appreciate it's always really a pleasure

talking to you um hopefully this won't

be our last conversation um thanks

thanks a bunch this has been great and

congratulations I I've said it and I've

written uh on inside EVs and said it on

our podcast many times that you are

single-handedly responsible for pulling

the industry ahead in North America

in my opinion and um you know I'm not

blowing smoke this is the truth somebody

had to put their foot down and say look

this isn't working we need to do better

and you were the guy that did it and uh

I want to thank you for that cuz I think

it's going to be difficult the next few

years this transition but we're we're

going to be the industry is going to be

better in in five or six years once the

dust settles and uh thank you for doing

this that's that's that's my

responsibility that's

that's

that's that's why I have the privilege

of working at Ford and being in my

position to do the right thing and I'm

lucky I have a chairman Bill Ford who

supports that and I have people like

Doug fields around me who encourage us

to make those decisions we're always

going to have a debate hey should we

charge it but as far as like true north

we know what true north is you know I

want you to be on that trip and and all

the people that pay attention to you and

and you're on that trip and and you know

you have an option that you didn't have

and it's a better experience I mean

that's that's a no-brainer for me U but

I have to give some credit to Tesla um

they worked hard with us and you know we

still have work to do you know we have

to update all the software and all the

supercharging network and so we have

more work to do but I I I say this is

like maybe maybe we're changing as an

industry okay well listen with that

thank you Jim oh help yep yeah you broke

up there I lost you for a minute I

thought you were done talking sorry no

no problem I just I just want to say I

think it was I I think you know this was

like what what good looks like in our

industry y well listen thank you thank

thanks for coming on Jim that's

fantastic and best of luck you too all

the best thanks a lot Tom bye bye okay

well I hope you enjoyed that as much as

I did I love talking to Jim uh this the

second time I had the opportunity to do

a one-on-one interview with him and you

know in addition to just being a great

CEO he seems like he's a downto earth

regular relatable guy and uh you know we

need more of those at the top of

Corporations and uh seemed like he was

brutally honest here today other than

not telling me which Ford vehicle was

going to have the uh KNX uh Inlet first

but I understand why he can't release

that um but I tell you we learned a lot

here today I know I learned a lot uh it

was interesting to hear that the real

deciding factor to having him make this

decision that he's going to try to uh

let Tesla give them access to the the

supercharger network was his road trip

and that's fascinating to me because I

know Ford has this whole team of charge

Angels out there that go to all the DC

fast Chargers and they report on their

uptime and how reliable they are and the

whole charging experience and we know he

has customers reaching out to Ford and

complaining that sometimes they're

having difficulty on road trips and heck

I mean I've heard stories of people

returning their electric vehicles

because their road tripping uh you know

instances were so bad that uh they just

felt like they had to get out of the EV

and get a combustion vehicle again so

and I know Ford knows this but it all

came down to Jim's experience with his

family on a road trip and that's it's it

doesn't surprise me and I think you know

all these engineers and decision makers

in these companies should be forced to

go on road trips and see firsthand what

it's like out there you know um and I

just completed a uh Thousand Mile Road

Trip from New Jersey to Florida and

honestly it was a great experience and I

can't I can't complain one iota and I

used the uh Electrify America charging

Network all the way down but that's

unusual for me when I go on road trips

there's typically at least one sort of a

problem and um I know a lot of people

just don't have the patience they just

don't want any problems and uh this this

transition to the North American

charging standard is going to be a great

long-term solution I think for everybody

uh but it was interesting to hear that

that's what that was the strw that broke

the camels back that this road trip um

made him realize that the customer

experience isn't what he wants so he was

going to try to improve that uh we also

learned about how that free adapter came

about and it seems like uh Jim had his

fingerprints all over that that he

thought it was really important and he

put his foot down and said no we're

going to give these away to customers

that want them uh learned about the data

sharing that Tesla doesn't get Ford

customer data at all as long as you uh

authenticate your charging session

through the Ford Pass App now if you use

the Tesla app which you can do also then

Tesla gets your data but if you don't

want Tesla to have your data uh go

through the Ford pass app with plugin

charge it's an automatic authentication

and processing you just plug in and you

walk away and it chares the vehicle and

then Tesla doesn't get any of your Ford

data but to me the most surprising thing

that I learned from this interview was

when Ford originally approached Tesla

through dougfield and asked you know

would we be able to do this they were

rebuffed they were said no no this isn't

something that we that we're interested

in and you know Tesla had always seemed

to make it sound like they'd be open to

letting anyone use their Network you

know and that's why they open the North

American charging standard they want

everybody to use their connector come

use our network but uh from what we're

getting from Jim that isn't what

happened here they were told no at first

and uh it took a phone call from Jim to

Elon to convince him and even Elon

initially gave some resistance so that's

surprising to me and uh I don't have any

reason to doubt Jim here but um it

seemed like you know Tesla just didn't

you know o welcome them with Open Arms

there was a little bit of a of a of a

resistance there but uh ultimately Jim

was able to convince Elon and that just

set in place The Dominoes for the entire

industry and I've said this before once

one company did this the rest of the

industry had to do it because they' have

such an incredible competitive advantage

over everybody else and we saw that JM

was next and I forget the order but

everybody now was signed on and one

automaker at of time is going to get

access first to an adapter and then uh

start putting the uh charge port

natively on their vehicles I would

imagine by sometime around 2026 2027

maybe 20128 even because some of the

existing uh models until they get a

refresh they won't have that Inlet but

by the end of this decade for sure all

new electric vehicles sold in North

America will have the KNX Inlet or it's

actually technically it's the j3 400

Inlet but um we could uh discuss that at

Great length in another video listen I

hope you enjoyed this video I certainly

enjoyed talking to Jim and hope you

learned a little bit about how this

whole thing came about listen if this is

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