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EV Charging Comparison: Tesla vs. Ford vs. Volkswagen

Charging your EV on the road has never been easier. For the most part.

  • written by
    Senior Vehicle Test Editor
    Kurt Niebuhr has worked in the automotive industry since 2005. A automotive photographer by trade, Kurt is now one of Edmunds' high-performance test drivers. He's driven and photographed hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles all over the world, so Kurt's library of automotive experiences would certainly make for a good book. When not dreaming about getting his racing license or trying to buy out-of-date film for his cameras, Kurt can usually be found cursing at his 1966 Mustang.
  • Tesla's Supercharger network remains the gold standard for public charging
  • The Ford Mustang Mach-E makes the most of the Electrify America network
  • Charging the VW ID.4 should be straightforward but isn't — there are too many steps and too many places for errors to occur

No matter how efficiently you drive your EV, a time will come when you'll need to plug in and add some range. In a perfect world, you'd always be able to charge at home — but if you plan on taking a road trip, you'll need to rely on the thousands of charging stations available across the U.S.

That's where the EV you choose to buy can really make a difference because the recharging experience is far from uniform across makes and models. We recently had a chance to conduct an EV charging comparison with three of the hottest new EVs on the market when we took a Tesla Model Y, a Ford Mustang Mach-E and a Volkswagen ID.4 on a road trip. Here's what we learned.

2020 Tesla Model Y.

2020 Tesla Model Y.

Am I Ready for an EV?

  • EV ownership works best if you can charge (240V) at home or at work This typically means a 240V home installation, but you could also have a similar setup at your office or other places your car is already parked for several hours each day. Don't expect a regular household outlet (120V) to suffice unless you've got a plug-in hybrid, in which case overnight charging at home is feasible.
  • If you can’t charge at home, charging at a charging station could take at least 10x longer than at a gas station With public charging infrastructure still in its infancy, the user experience can be maddeningly inconsistent. Tesla owners tend to rave about the reliability and speed of the company's proprietary Supercharger stations, but rival DC fast options have thus far been plagued by technical issues and overcrowding. It's an evolving landscape and our best advice is to do your research on the available options for the EV you want to buy.
  • Adding a 240V home charging system could cost up to $1,600 or more If your existing electrical service can handle the additional demands of EV charging, you may be able to add Level 2 charging at home for less than a grand, including installation. But your costs will multiply if you need to upgrade your electrical panel or add a dedicated circuit.

Tesla's head start: the Supercharger advantage

Tesla's Supercharger network has been around for more than 10 years, so it should come as no surprise that the company's charging procedure is about as good as it gets. And with more than 900 Supercharger stations in the country, it's increasingly likely that there'll be one nearby when you need it. Once you pull up to an empty charger, starting the process is as easy as grabbing the Supercharger cable, opening your Tesla's charge door and inserting the plug into the charge port. In the time it will take you to read this sentence, the Supercharger will talk to your Tesla, confirm your Tesla account (they need to bill you — it's not free like it used to be) and start charging. That's it.

It should be noted that while only Tesla vehicles can interface with a Tesla Supercharger, you can also charge your Tesla at any number of public charging stations. The process won't be quite as rapid, but so long as you have an adapter for the charging plug (Tesla uses a proprietary plug) and a valid credit card, you'll be good to go.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E.

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E follows Tesla's lead

A partnership with Electrify America (EA) allows the charging process for the Mustang Mach-E owner to be roughly similar to that for the Tesla owner at a Supercharger. After you plug in at one of the company's more than 500 stations, the EA charger will communicate with your Mach-E, ensure proper billing, and get to recharging your battery in under one minute. Like Tesla, Ford offers an app to monitor your charge rate and battery level, and the Mach-E is capable of planning your route based on available charging stations.

Plugging into other public charging stations isn't quite as pain-free — you will have to swipe your credit card and go through the steps required by that particular charging company. But unlike the Tesla, the Mach-E doesn't need a special adapter to use other public charging stations.

2021 Volkswagen ID.4.

2021 Volkswagen ID.4.

The Volkswagen ID.4 makes it strangely hard to use the network that VW created

Since Volkswagen was the company that created the Electrify America network (it's a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America), you'd think the automaker would have made it easier to connect its own ID.4 model to an EA charger. Where Tesla and Ford offer easy plug-and-charge capability, the ID.4 goes the opposite direction with myriad steps and different forms of communication to start the charging process.

Not only can all those steps be a bit confusing for a newcomer to a charging station, but they create extra opportunities for something to go wrong, too. Whereas the Tesla and Ford simply talk it over with the charger and get to work, the Volkswagen requires you to use the app to select both the location of your station and the specific charger you want to use before the digital handshake can begin. If the app crashes (it happened to us and it can happen to you), you select the wrong charger, or there's another failure along the way ... you can already feel your blood pressure rising.

Edmunds says

Recharging your electric vehicle in the U.S. has never been easier, with more than 100,000 charging stations offered by Tesla, Electrify America, ChargePoint and others. But our experiences show there are some wrinkles to be ironed out. Refinements to the Electrify America network and to Volkswagen's specific charging process are sure to come, but in the meantime, the superiority of Tesla's massive and long-running Supercharger network is clear. Of course, you shouldn't encounter difficulties with any EV if you're plugging it in at your own home, but if you decide to take a road trip, ease of public charging suddenly becomes a major factor. It's definitely something for EV shoppers to keep in mind.

Kurt Niebuhrby

Kurt Niebuhr has worked in the automotive industry since 2005. A automotive photographer by trade, Kurt is now one of Edmunds' high-performance test drivers. He's driven and photographed hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles all over the world, so Kurt's library of automotive experiences would certainly make for a good book. When not dreaming about getting his racing license or trying to buy out-of-date film for his cameras, Kurt can usually be found cursing at his 1966 Mustang.

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