GM to use Tesla's charging network, joining Ford in leveraging the electric vehicle leader's technology

General Motors (GM) announced its partnership with Tesla to use the electric vehicle leader’s North American network and charging 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 electric vehicles starting in 2025. GM customers will also have a full access to Tesla Supercharger stations, which are the fastest and most widespread in the country.

The partnership was revealed Thursday by GM CEO Mary Barra and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a conversation on Twitter Spaces. Both leaders expressed their commitment to advancing the electric vehicle revolution and making charging more convenient and accessible to 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 electric vehicles.

A win-win-win

Musk said GM and Tesla vehicles would benefit from a level playing field at charging stations. “We will provide equal support to both,” he said. “The most important thing is to advance the electric vehicle revolution.”

Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the United States, while there are about 54,000 public charging stations in total, according to the Department of Energy. Many non-Tesla stations charge much more slowly than Tesla’s, which can provide up to 250 kilowatts of power.

The announcement sent shares of rival electric vehicle charging companies tumbling Friday, with EVgo, ChargePoint and Blink Charging all sliding between 11% and 13%. However, some analysts said the selloff was an overreaction because the U.S. electric vehicle charging industry 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 electric vehicle brands. It could also boost the adoption of electric vehicles in general, with one of the main obstacles for potential buyers being the lack of charging infrastructure.

GM plans to launch 30 new electric vehicle 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 US electric vehicle market, with a 69% share in 2020.