Those who pre-ordered Ford's electric F-150 Lightning truck are starting to receive them, and a few buyers noticed a little surprise. In addition to a standard charging cord for the car, the setup box includes an adapter to charge Teslas and other EVs.
As InsideEVs reports, a picture of the adapter and an F-150 instructions sheet titled, “Charging other EVs with your F-150," was posted last week on a Lightning owners forum. That instruction sheet doesn't mention Tesla, but the box the adapter comes in notes the ability to charge Teslas—without name-checking any other EV brands—twice.
The F-150 Lightning, which features a 230-mile standard range and 300-mile extended range, can also serve as a generator, powering homes during an outage.
According to May 2022 sales data, the first 200 Lightnings left showrooms last month. "More than 75% of the people who have reserved an F-150 Lightning are new to Ford," the company says. About 79% are also first-time EV buyers, CNET reports, so they're unlikely to have another battery-powered car that may need the adapter. But it could come in handy when assisting an EV driver in distress—the 2022 version of jumper cables.
"I love the idea of helping out stranded Teslas!” wrote one commenter in the Lightning forum.
In a wider context, universal charging options will likely benefit all EV owners and avoid a customized cord situation like we see in the smartphone world. Tesla owners can use the included adapter to charge at roadside charging stations like Blink and ChargePoint; non-Tesla EVs can't yet charge at Tesla-run stations, though the company is now running a test in the Netherlands that lets other EV brands power up at Tesla Supercharger stations.