James Avery James Avery

General Motors to Use Tesla's Charging Network for its Electric Vehicles

Detroit-based automaker, General Motors (GM), has announced that its electric vehicles (EVs) will be able to use Tesla's extensive charging network beginning early next year. The companies also revealed that GM will adopt Tesla's connector, the plug that links an electric vehicle to a charging station. This follows Ford's similar agreement with Tesla two weeks ago. Both companies are pushing to make Tesla's connector the industry standard. Switching to Tesla's North American Charging Standard connector will begin with new EV models produced in 2025.

At first, GM and Ford EV owners will need an adapter to hook into the Tesla stations, which have their own connector. Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the U.S. There are about 54,000 public charging stations in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, but many charge much more slowly than the Tesla stations. Current GM owners will probably need to buy the adapter, and details of how customers would gain access are still being worked out. GM EV owners may have to pay a monthly charge to access Tesla’s charging network, or they could pay for each use.

Tesla's charging network is a huge competitive advantage for the company which sells more EVs than anyone else in the U.S. It allows for long-distance travel, where most fast-charging plugs are needed, and is known for being more reliable than other networks. By opening access to GM and Ford EVs, it will make it easier for those owners to charge while travelling.

GM CEO Mary Barra sees joining Tesla’s network as an opportunity to expand access to charging. “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 CCS connector used on most other EVs.

Details of the financial agreement between the two companies were not released, but GM spokesman Darryll Harrison said GM isn't paying Tesla. “Tesla will get better utilization of their network and all the new charging revenue, which will help them expand the network further,” Harrison said. “There are other opportunities both companies can take advantage of as a result of the agreement.”

Mike Austin, an electric vehicles analyst for Guidehouse Insights, said GM joining Tesla's network is a huge step toward making Tesla's connector the industrywide standard. "It seems like there’s a lot of momentum going the way of the North American Charging Standard, for sure,” he said.

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