Tesla’s EV charging model effectively becomes US standard after GM, Ford deal

General Motors (GM) and Ford have both officially made deals with Tesla that will allow their electric vehicle (EV) customers to access the Tesla Supercharger network in North America as soon as 2024. 

The deal allows GM and Ford, current makers of more affordable electric vehicles, to manufacture EVs equipped with Tesla's proprietary charging standard and gives these vehicles access to the largest network of EV charging stations in the US.

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This will include over 12,000 Tesla charging stations that account for about 60% of the total number of fast chargers in North America. 

As Tesla, GM, and Ford manufacture 70% of the EVs in the US, the adoption of the same charging technology effectively makes Tesla's charging system the new standard in the US. and, possibly, all of North America.     

During a Twitter Spaces talk when the Ford deal was announced in May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained the motivation behind the deal: “The idea is that we don't want the Tesla supercharger network to be like a walled garden. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transport in general.”

Making the Tesla charging technology the standard in the US also stands to make the company extra profit. After the deals were announced, Tesla's shares were up 5.8% on Friday, while GM's also went up 3.1%. Financial experts at Piper Sandler & Co said Tesla stands to make up to $3 billion by 2030 as a result of the deals. 

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Ford will equip its future EVs with Tesla's charging system starting in 2025, but a Tesla-developed adapter will provide vehicles that use the Combined Charging System (CCS) access to the Tesla Supercharger network. Now, GM is joining in on the endeavor. 

“I think this is just going to be a fundamentally great thing for the advancement of electric vehicles,” Musk shared during another Spaces conversation to announce the GM deal. 

In recent years, EV users and industry executives pointed to different charging systems as a barrier for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. 

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Though the Biden administration had pushed for the adoption of the CCS that rivaled Tesla's system and was used by other EV manufacturers, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC in May that he believed the EV industry would eventually adopt a single standard, but adapters would allow interoperability.