General Motors (GM) has announced that it will partner with Tesla to use the electric vehicle leader’s North American charging network and technologies, following a similar move by Ford last month.
GM, like Ford, will begin installing a charging port used by Tesla, known as NACS, instead of the current industry-standard CCS, in its EVs starting in 2025. GM customers will also have full access to Tesla’s Supercharger stations, which are the fastest and most widespread in the nation.
The partnership was revealed by GM CEO Mary Barra and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a Twitter Spaces conversation on Thursday. Both leaders expressed their commitment to advancing the electric vehicle revolution and making charging more convenient and accessible for consumers.
“Like Ford, we see this as an opportunity to expand access to charging,” Barra said, adding that GM hopes the rest of the industry will move to the Tesla charging connector, which is different from the standard one used by most other EVs.
A win-win-win
Musk said that GM and Tesla vehicles would have an even playing field at the charging stations. “We will provide support equally to both,” he said. “The most important thing is we advance the electric vehicle revolution.”
Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the U.S., while there are about 54,000 public charging stations in total, according to the Department of Energy. Many of the non-Tesla stations charge much more slowly than the Tesla ones, which can deliver up to 250 kilowatts of power.
The announcement sent rival EV charging companies’ shares tumbling on Friday, with EVgo, ChargePoint and Blink Charging all sliding between 11% – 13%. However, some analysts said the sell-off was an overreaction, as the EV charging industry in the U.S. is still relatively underdeveloped and there is plenty of room for growth.
The partnership between GM and Tesla is also seen as a win for consumers, who will benefit from a more standardized and seamless charging experience across different EV brands. It could also boost the adoption of EVs in general, as one of the main barriers for potential buyers is the lack of charging infrastructure.
GM plans to launch 30 new EV models globally by 2025 and invest $35 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles. The company aims to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Tesla, meanwhile, remains the dominant player in the U.S. EV market, with a 69% share in 2020.
