Tesla owners learned late last month that they would have to share sometimes crowded Tesla Supercharging stations with anyone who drives Ford electric cars. Today they learned that GM EV customers will be able to use recharge points as well.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his counterpart Mary Barra announced today at the Twitter Spaces event.
Already many Tesla owners complain about some stations being crowded — even without the influx of drivers from competing electric brands. earlier this year, Wall Street Journal I’ve reported Tesla drivers frustrated with the crowds and fearful that Tesla might open up its charging network to competitors.
For Tesla, opening up the grid helps it qualify for a share of the billions in federal dollars offered to improve the electric vehicle charging experience in America. In February, as part of a bipartisan EV Charging Infrastructure Act’s $7.5 billion investment, the White House announced “a set of measures intended to create a convenient, reliable, and American-made electric vehicle charging network so that the Great American Road Trip can be electrified.” “. It said Tesla will, for the first time, open up part of its SuperCharger and Destination Charger network in the United States to electric vehicles that don’t use Tesla.
Under the deal announced today, GM drivers will have access to 12,000 or so Tesla Supercharger stations early next year. This reflects the news from Ford.
GM and Ford have also agreed to adopt Tesla’s connector standard, the North American Charging Standard (NACS), in a blow to existing industry standards CCS. musk answered Today to tweet reading “RIP CCS” with:
“Thank goodness! North America will have a better vehicle shipping connector than the rest of the world.”
The main barrier to widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the US is the scarcity of charging access, so Ford and GM’s arrangements with Tesla are likely to spur growth in the segment.
Barra is excited about what this partnership means for our customers and the industry chirp today.
But as one Seattle-based Tesla owner told magazine, “That’s the only thing I’m concerned about – whether it can add to the congestion…they really need to put more superchargers in them.”
Of course, Tesla continues to expand the network; Many people charge at home primarily; Not all stations are crowded. But Tesla drivers can expect longer wait times as unfamiliar cars join them at stops early next year.
