General Motors dropped a bombshell on the auto industry today, announcing that they’ll adopt Tesla’s proprietary North American Charging Standard for their electric vehicles starting in 2025. According to the deal inked between the long-time competitors, GM customers will soon have access to Tesla’s massive network of 12,000 Superchargers across the US and Canada. Talk about a surprise partnership!
GM CEO Mary Barra tweeted about the news, saying “We’re teaming up with @Tesla to enhance your electric vehicle experience. More charging stations, less range anxiety, more sustainable journeys. It’s about your convenience, not our competition.” Well said, Mary! Starting next year, current GM EV owners will need an adapter to charge at Tesla stations, but 2025 models will have Tesla-compatible plugs built right in. Barra expects the move to accelerate EV adoption in North America and save GM nearly half a billion bucks in charging infrastructure costs. Not too shabby!
The announcement sent Tesla and GM stock prices up more than 4% in after-hours trading. Tesla’s shares have been on a hot streak, marking their tenth day of gains in a row. Looks like investors approve of the new “frenemies” relationship!
Ford CEO Jim Farley threw some shade at the deal, tweeting “I think GM and other automakers have a big decision to make: do they want their customers to have a fast charging experience or do they want to stick to their own standards and have a worse fast charging experience?” The CharIN association behind the CCS fast charging standard wasn’t too happy either, claiming CCS is the global standard and will stand the test of time unlike the “uncertainty” of Tesla’s tech.
But GM’s move is all about customer convenience, as Barra said. Since the NACS plug will work with CCS ports, all new GM and Ford EVs (Ford Teams Up with Tesla: Ford Electric Vehicle Owners Can Now Access Tesla’s Supercharger) will only need one fast charging port after 2025. That’s huge for EV adoption! Other automakers like Lucid have to decide whether to follow suit or stick with their own standards. For brands trying to break into North America, using Tesla’s NACS seems like a no-brainer compared to CCS if they want their customers to have the best charging experience.
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