Tesla Superchargers To Open To GM, Following Ford

General Motors is set to join Ford in gaining access to Tesla’s Supercharger network and charging port. The announcement is the latest in a shift toward a standardized set of charging hardware in the U.S., with both companies readying to gain access to the chargers next year.

Above: A Tesla Supercharger (Image: Casey Murphy / EVANNEX).

CEO Mary Barra announced in a Twitter Spaces call last week that GM will begin using Tesla Superchargers in 2024, and the company’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) port as soon as 2025, reports Car and Driver. The news comes just weeks after Ford made a similar announcement on Twitter Spaces, with both auto giants increasing pressure for other automakers to switch to Tesla’s charging hardware as a standard.

Currently, GM and Ford’s EVs both include the Combined Charging System (CCS) hardware. However, the move could push the U.S. Barra said the shift would "help move the industry toward a single North American Charging Standard."

Additionally, GM stands to save millions on adding to its own charging network through the use of Tesla’s Superchargers. GM owners currently have access to about 134,000 chargers through the company’s Ultium Charge 360 program, which includes chargers from ChargePoint, EVgo and other charging networks. Tesla’s Superchargers will add roughly 12,000 charging ports as options to charge.

Many of Tesla’s charging stations include the automaker’s V3 Superchargers, which charge at 250 kW, which the automaker says can add up to about 200 miles in 15 minutes. Additionally, EVs that precondition their batteries for charging may be able to charge even more quickly, Tesla says. The automaker’s older V2 and V1 Superchargers can only offer about 150kW speeds, meaning it takes longer to charge at these types of charging stations.

Above: GM CEO Mary Barra breaks down new EV charging partnership with Tesla (Video: CNBC / YouTube).

While Ford and GM owners of current EV generations will have to use adapters from CCS to Tesla’s NACS standard, production of EVs using the NACS charging port is expected to begin in 2025 for both companies. While GM and Ford are currently the only major U.S. automakers to announce a switch to the Tesla-designed port, startup EV company Aptera was the first to officially adopt the standard in an announcement last November.

At this point, many analysts expect Tesla’s NACS to become the charging standard in the U.S., with Ford and GM representing a huge chunk of the vehicles produced and purchased today. To those analysts, other automakers adopting the NACS hardware and Tesla’s Supercharger network may only be a matter of time.

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