General Motors CEO Mary Barra speaks during the opening of contract negotiations with United Auto workers on July 16, 2019, in Detroit.
Paul Sanya/AP
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Paul Sanya/AP
General Motors CEO Mary Barra speaks during the opening of contract negotiations with United Auto workers on July 16, 2019, in Detroit.
Paul Sanya/AP
DETROIT – Electric vehicles made by General Motors will be able to use the majority of Tesla’s extensive charging network starting early next year under an agreement the two companies announced Thursday.
In addition, GM will use a Tesla connector, the type of plug that connects an electric vehicle to a charging station.
GM joins Ford in moving its electric vehicles to work with about 12,000 of Tesla’s roughly 17,000 chargers, and both Detroit automakers are working to make Tesla’s connector the industry standard. . GM CEO Mary Barra and her Tesla partner, Elon Musk, made the announcement during a Twitter Spaces chat.
Their discussion comes two weeks after Ford CEO Jim Farley joined Musk in announcing that Ford’s electric vehicles will have access to the majority of Tesla’s EV charging network, the largest in the nation. . Farley also said Ford will switch to Tesla’s charging network connector instead of another one used by the rest of the industry.
At first, GM and Ford EV owners will need an adapter to connect to Tesla stations, which have their own connectors. But both GM and Ford will switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard connector starting in 2025.
Tesla has about 17,000 Supercharger stations in the US There are about 54,000 public charging stations in the US, according to the Department of Energy, but many charge much slower than Tesla stations.
“Like Ford, we see this as an opportunity to expand access to charging,” Barra said, adding that GM expects the rest of the industry to switch to the Tesla charging connector, which is different from the original. standard connector used by most other EVs.
Musk said that GM and Tesla vehicles will have a level playing field at charging stations.
“We will provide equal support to both,” he said. “The most important thing is that we promote the electric vehicle revolution.”
