GM CEO Mary Barra announced on Thursday that the company will also adopt the use of Tesla's charging network, giving drivers more options.
Barra said during a Twitter Spaces audio conversation with Tesla CEO Elon Musk that electric vehicle drivers will be able to use its adapters that will be available in the spring 2024 and charge from Tesla's network.
DON'T MISS: Musk Uses Spaces to Announce a Big Deal With Ford
Tesla (TSLA) has 12,000 fast chargers which GM drivers will be able to access. This partnership follows Ford's deal with Tesla on May 25.
Both Detroit automakers, GM (GM) and Ford (F), will add a charging port in 2025 called NACS or the North American Charging Standard, which is the one used by Tesla. The EV industry uses the CCS in EVs currently.
One sticking point to encourage more drivers to switch over to EVs has been finding charging ports easily. The U.S. government will invest billions of dollars to ramp up the number of charging locations. Several automakers have also invested in charging networks.
GM has been adding more models to its current lineup of fully electric vehicles as competition has heated up in recent years. Legacy automakers have developed EVs and many have started construction on its own battery plants.
“This collaboration is a key part of our strategy and an important next step in quickly expanding access to fast chargers for our customers,” Barra said in a statement. “Not only will it help make the transition to electric vehicles more seamless for our customers, but it could help move the industry toward a single North American charging standard.”
Having an "all in one standard" will drive additional adoption of EVs, Barra said during Spaces.
An increase in access to charging "will help" put people's "mind at ease," Musk said.
He said Tesla would not "do anything" to give preference to Tesla drivers when it comes to the charging networks.
Tesla's Supercharger network globally includes 45,000 connectors at 4,947 Supercharger stations.
The U.S. Department of Energy said there are 5,300 CCS fast chargers located in the U.S. currently. The EV maker has not said how many are located in the U.S.
Barra's announcement on Spaces raised some eyebrows because since she has not tweeted since Oct. 27, the day Musk took over Twitter for $44 billion.
GM also stopped paying for ads on the social media network last October.
Ford Also Partnered With Tesla
Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley discussed last month how the legacy automaker will partner with its competitor Tesla by using its charging network for its electric vehicles as well.
Farley discussed the initiative with Tesla CEO Elon Musk via a Twitter Spaces. Owners of Ford EVs will be able to access Tesla's Supercharger network in the U.S. and Canada, starting in 2024.
Ford was the first automaker to conduct a deal to use Tesla's chargers.
Ford currently has over 10,000 DC fast-chargers that are already part of its BlueOval Charge Network. Its dealers will add about 1,800 public-facing fast-chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge Network by early 2024.
Customers who own the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning and E-Transit can use Tesla's network by adding an adapter and software integration. It will also require activation and payment via FordPass or Ford Pro Intelligence.
By 2025, Ford's new EV models will have the NACS connector built-in and will not need an adapter to use Tesla's charging network.
Federal Money Invested in Charging Ports
The news was initially announced by the Biden administration in February when Tesla said it would make at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024, but no partnerships with specific automakers were named.
The infrastructure law includes federal government investments of $7.5 billion in EV charging, $10 billion in clean transportation and over $7 billion in EV battery components. Tesla's charging network currently is only available for its own vehicles.
Ford vehicles will need to add an adapter in order to charge. The veteran automaker has been under scrutiny as investors and analysts are skeptical of its ambitions to become a major player in electric vehicles.
Musk said the adapters would not be cost prohibitive and cost "hundreds of dollars."
Ford separated its EV business from its combustion engine models in March 2022.
"Splitting out the business has been a game changer," Farley said during Twitter Spaces.
