General Motors (GM) and Tesla have reached an agreement to share the latter's extensive charging network with the former starting early next year.
GM will also adopt Tesla's connector, the plug that connects an electric vehicle (EV) to a charging station.
GM, following in the footsteps of Ford, plans to integrate its EVs with approximately 12,000 of Tesla's chargers, out of the roughly 17,000 available. Both GM and Ford are actively working toward establishing Tesla's connector as the standard across the industry.
The announcement regarding this collaboration was made by GM CEO Mary Barra and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a conversation on Twitter, as reported by NPR. In a separate venture, GM is also partnering with six other major automakers to build a charging network that will compete with Tesla's while using the same standard.
In the U.S., Tesla operates approximately 17,000 Supercharger stations. But according to the Department of Energy, there are around 54,000 public charging stations available. It's worth noting that many of these stations have slower charging speeds compared to the Tesla Supercharger stations.
NPR reports GM CEO Mary Barra as saying, "Like Ford, we see this as an opportunity to expand access to charging."
Considering how transportation accounts for 16.2% of human-induced planet-warming gases globally, EVs are crucial for the move toward an environmentally friendly and pollution-free transportation sector, as they significantly cut down on heat-trapping air pollution by not producing any exhaust.
The United Nations has gone on the record saying, "By achieving a 60% share of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road, more than 60 billion tons of [carbon dioxide] could be saved between now and 2050."
These types of vehicles also come with numerous benefits for consumers. Newly purchased all-electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell EVs may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500.
So far, the number of exhaustless vehicles on the road has gone from about 22,000 to more than 2 million from 2011 to 2021.
With regard to Tesla's decision to share its charging station, Musk said GM and Tesla EVs would have "an even playing field."
"We will provide support equally to both. The most important thing is we advance the electric vehicle revolution," Musk said, according to NPR.
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