For usage of Tesla’s North American charging network and technologies, General Motors will join crosstown rival Ford Motor in a partnership. Starting in 2019, GM vehicles will be able to use an adaptor and the Detroit automaker’s EV charging software to connect to 12,000 of Tesla’s fast chargers.
A win-win for Tesla
Starting in 2025, GM, like Ford, will switch out the CCS charging connector now used by the industry in favor of the NACS, or North American Charging Standard, port used by Tesla. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said on Thursday that the carmaker anticipates saving up to $400 million of a previously stated $750 million expenditure to roll out EV charging as a result of a deal.
The alliances with the current two top Detroit automakers represent a significant victory for Tesla and its charging technology. It is anticipated that this will increase pressure on other automakers to adopt Tesla’s technology, as well as on the US government, which is spending billions to develop an EV charging infrastructure. When the Tesla-Ford partnership was revealed last month, Wall Street experts welcomed it as a “win-win” situation. The shares of General Motors and Tesla both increased by roughly 3% on Thursday’s after-hours trade.
General Motors to integrate Tesla charging standard in new EVs starting in 2025
A Significant Shift in the Approach
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, and Barra made the announcement during a live audio chat on Twitter Spaces. It happens as GM increases the manufacturing of its all-electric cars in an effort to reach Tesla’s level of sales in the market.
It also represents a significant shift in approach for GM. When Ford announced its own alliance with Tesla a few weeks ago, GM was collaborating with engineering group SAE International to create and hone an open connector standard for CCS.
“I think we have a real opportunity here to really drive this to be the unit unified standard for North America, which I think will even enable more mass adoption, so I couldn’t be more excited,” Barra said during the brief conversation, which lasted less than 10 minutes.
