When Ford finished shipping its 140,000 complimentary Tesla charging adapters to its electric vehicle customers in the U.S., it bragged about the part's toughness in a dramatic video. It showcased the F-150 Lightning driving over the adapter. The little accessory emerged seemingly unscathed.
The North American Charging System (NACS) to Combined Charging System (CCS) adapter, which Ford co-developed with EV accessory maker Lectron, allows drivers to charge at thousands of Tesla Superchargers in the U.S. During the initial rollout, Ford provided free adapters to customers. Now, it’s available to purchase for $200. (Although tariffs may make it more expensive.)
And now, thanks to Lectron, we’re getting a closer look at the engineering that went into the adapter which ensures it doesn’t break under high voltage and current loads.
“In the aftermarket, you optimize for value. On the [automaker] side, you're optimizing for durability that goes above and beyond,” Christopher Maiwald, the CEO and founder of Lectron, told InsideEVs.
The aftermarket adapter Maiwald referred to is Lectron’s Vortex adapter, which theoretically allows EVs with a CCS port to charge at Tesla Superchargers. An early batch of Vortex adapters got recalled last year because the Supercharger cable could snap out from the adapter when DC fast charging if you pulled hard enough.
Unplugging a DC fast-charging cable mid-session isn’t similar to casually pulling the plug of your coffee machine. These chargers dispense massive amounts of current—hundreds of amps at high voltage—through thick cables, via adapters, into your EV battery. An accidental disconnect is a safety hazard that could expose users to damaged pins and hot connectors.
Lectron issued a fix, so the adapter could no longer be yanked out like before. The cable can only detach from the adapter when owners end the charging session from the car, or by pressing the button the Tesla cable.
The early struggles obscures how much work went into this project. Ford co-developed its adapter with Lectron along with some design changes and added redundancies on top of the standard-issue Lectron unit. Despite it being just a passive device connecting the vehicle and the charger—with no software wizardry or communication protocols built-in—it required plenty of engineering.
On the Ford adapter, the pin that buckles into the CCS charging port is thicker, as InsideEVs’ contributor and State of Charge YouTube channel host Tom Moloughney explained in a video. There’s also a second interlocking pin, which prevents the cable from being detached unless the charging session has stopped.
“There were extreme drop tests that made us change certain components,” Maiwald said. “The latches are made of stainless steel instead of zinc alloy,” he added. “Ford and our other customers insisted on an interlock design for extra redundancy and extra safety.”
That interlock brought another challenge: It’s a moving part, which meant the whole system had to meet an IP67 waterproofing standard. Lectron engineered a seal that could move with the interlock mechanism—again and again, at least 10,000 times—without letting water in.
Ford showcased the torture tests in a clip. It was frozen to -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit), dropped from height and repeatedly run over by the 6,000-pound F-150 Lightning. Each time, it worked like nothing happened. That’s at least what we saw in the video. We’ll have to see what owners report from real world usage.
But it’s worth noting that using certified, manufacturer-recommended EV accessories such as adapters made by Tesla or Lectron is crucial. Buying cheap, low-quality adapters on Amazon or any website can be dangerous, as they may not be built to safety standards.
“In order for a company to put their logo on it, there’s a lot of effort that goes into it,” Maiwald said. “Each one of these adapters has fulfilled the requirements of Ford, GM, and Mercedes after a ton of extensive testing.”
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