Tesla (TSLA) has seemingly been cemented as the leader in EVs in recent weeks through a series of significant partnership deals with the likes of Ford, General Motors and Rivian. The result is that the customers of these brands will be gaining access to Tesla's expansive network of Superchargers across North America, a move that addressed one of the biggest obstacles to EV adoption -- range -- in a big way.
Beyond being a positive for (GM) customers, CEO Mary Barra told CNBC that the deal was huge for the company, saving GM $400 million.
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"We saw this as an opportunity for General Motors. We were able to save $400 million," Barra said. "I think one of the things our industry could do is partner more. We've done partnership deals with Ford in the past, we partner on many things with Honda. I think our industry could be even more efficient."
The partnership, which Barra herself kicked off by texting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, came less than two weeks after Ford got the ball rolling with a similar announcement.
"I think what was important there is GM customers had access to about 13,000 chargers in the U.S. That doubled it," Barra said.
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Barra, who acknowledged Tesla as the EV market's leader just days before the partnership was announced, added that GM is on the way to experiencing a bit of EV profitability.
"We're on track for 2025 to be in that low mid-single digits. A lot of it is going to rely on continuing to improve battery chemistry and getting cost out of the battery because that's where the cost opportunity is," Barra said. "We're going to drive to profitability as quickly as possible. I think we're going to see profitability even in those affordable vehicles more quickly than anyone's expecting."
