General Motors said Thursday it has reached a deal that will allow its electric vehicles to use Tesla’s extensive charging network. GM also said that its future battery-powered models will use the charging plug standard pioneered by Tesla.
The announcement, which comes two weeks after a comparable agreement by Ford, is likely to make Tesla’s technology the industry standard and squeeze companies that are racing to build similar networks to sell electric vehicles.
The battle between Tesla’s charging plug and the plugs currently used by Ford, GM and other automakers recalls the contest between Betamax and VHS video cassettes in the 1980s. VHS eventually won the battle and Betamax equipment became obsolete.
GM Chief Executive Mary T. Barra made the announcement during a streaming Twitter conversation with Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk. Both called the deal a positive for consumers.
“That would be fundamentally great for the progress of EV adoption,” Mr. Musk said, adding that he would make sure Tesla did not use its control of the nation’s largest charging network to harm competitors. .
Investors welcomed the deal. Tesla and GM share prices rose nearly 3 percent each in extended trading on Thursday.
