Lucas Bell 
When the Ford Mustang Mach-E made its debut, it represented a number of firsts for the Blue Oval. It was the first vehicle outside of a two door coupe to wear the iconic Mustang nameplate, and it was Ford’s first real attempt at an electric crossover. That said, the Mach-E is also the first vehicle in Ford’s portfolio to be able to support over-the-air updates. Thanks to the folks over at the Mach-E Forum, we now know that select customers are being invited to try out this electric vehicle’s OTA update capability for the first time.
The information comes by way of a forum user who received an email about the Mustang Mach-E offer from the automaker. This message was sent to a small number of owners and lessees, and reads as follows:
“You are among a very select group of owners/lessees invited to provide initial feedback to Ford Motor Company via the Connected Vehicle Data Drive Community! This important customer collaboration project gives you access to two Over-the-Air vehicle software updates before anyone else as well as the ability to provide Ford with feedback on the update via two short surveys, approximately once a month. Ford is counting on you for your help with this initiative.”
The email further notes that qualified Ford Mustang Mach-E customers who choose to opt in to the OTA testing program will receive a $20 Amazon e-gift card after completing both the over-the-air update and its accompanying survey. This reward can be claimed for each of the two upcoming updates, resulting in an opportunity for $40 worth of rewards.
Over-the-air updates aren’t an entirely new concept in the automotive world, with Tesla Motors becoming the first to popularize the technology with their EV lineup. This system allows customers to make fewer trips to their local dealership for software updates, and also allows the automaker to continue improving the vehicle after purchase. The Mustang Mach-E’s vehicle modules have all been designed with this technology in mind, which will allow for everything from performance bumps to entirely new features to be added. The 2021 Ford F-150 also arrived with this capability.
When this software rolls out for all Mustang Mach-E customers, Ford says that the process will be as pain-free as possible. Notifications through the Ford app will let customers know when these updates are available, allowing owners to schedule when these downloads will take place. Most updates are said to be able to be completed in less than two minutes, while larger updates can be scheduled for overnight installation. When completed, the Mustang Mach-E’s infotainment system will give owners a detailed look at what improvements have been made. This is obviously quite similar to how the smartphone in your pocket functions.
So then it should only be a matter of time now before early Ford Mustang Mach-E customers start to see changes to their vehicles. That said, opting into the testing program required customers to agree to an NDA, which might hamper our ability to learn specifics about the updates immediately. Of course we are talking about the internet here, where things tend to come out regardless of such legal documents.
