Tesla exec comments on Ford Supercharger, calls it a knock-off of Tesla design

Ford's newly installed Supercharging stalls at its dealership in Delaware, US have raised some controversy about their design. Though Ford mostly depends on general public charging infrastructure for its vehicles, this seems to either be an experiment or a one-off project but it's design is definitely being questioned.

While many on social media have made comments on the design of Ford Supercharging stalls, one comment from Tesla's Product Design Director Javier Verdura has especially been doing rounds on the internet. He has called the design of Ford's charging stalls as a poorly executed replica of Tesla Supercharging stalls' design. Replying to a Twitter post with the Ford Supercharger's pictures, Verdura wrote, “…disingenuous, unnecessarily large, poorly executed knock-off of our design".

The Ford Superchargers are AC Level 2 charging points with up to 19.2 kW power output whereas Tesla Superchargers are DC fast chargers, which - depending on version - can deliver up to 250 kW of power. And some Twitter users have noted that the Ford chargers do not require ventilation like the DC fast chargers from Tesla.

Another Twitter user called the Ford Superchargers 'dishonest' and a rip-off of Tesla design. “But even beyond that, it’s not even a DC Fast Charger with CCS Ports. With a J1772 port you get Level 2 AC charging at up to 19kW. That speed doesn’t require ventilation like we see here," the user wrote.

Whether Tesla will officially take an action on the design controversy or will it just ignore the incident as hilarious, only time will tell. Ford is not building a large-scale charging infrastructure at the moment but if it does, will it use the same design? Again, only time will tell.

What is certain is that Ford is putting in efforts to transition towards an electric vehicle company with an aim to build 600,000 BEVs per year by the end of 2023.