General Motors announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement that will allow its electric vehicles to use Tesla’s extensive charging network. GM also said future battery-powered models will adopt the charging plug standard pioneered by Tesla.
The announcement, which came two weeks after Ford signed an equivalent deal, is likely to make Tesla’s technology the industry standard and put pressure on companies competing to build a similar network as electric vehicle sales soar. .
The battle between Tesla’s charging plug and the charging plugs used today by Ford, GM, and other automakers recalls the race between Betamax and VHS videocassettes in the 1980s. VHS eventually won the battle and Betamax equipment became obsolete.
GM CEO Mary T. Barra made the announcement during a streaming Twitter conversation with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Both men said the deal would be a win for consumers.
“This would be fundamentally great for driving EV adoption,” Musk said, adding that it would prevent Tesla from using its control of the country’s largest charging network to the detriment of its competitors. rice field.
Investors welcomed the deal. Shares of Tesla and GM rose about 3% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
