GM and Ford begin collaboration with Tesla

Globally, Tesla has the largest network of charging stations for electric cars. Moreover, its charging stations are the most reliable and very easy for customers to use. This is exactly why it can be an advantage for other e-car manufacturers to share these charging stations instead of building the entire infrastructure themselves. After Ford, General Motors CEO Mary Barra has now also announced in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk to access this network from 2024 and through an adapter allow their customers to charge their e-cars at Tesla charging stations.

From 2025, both Ford and GM plan to equip their e-cars with the so-called NACS (North American Charging Standard), which Tesla uses, already in production, replacing the adapter. This deal comes against the backdrop of General Motors planning a massive expansion of its electric vehicle production to generate similar sales figures to Tesla in the future. This expansion can now be done not only much faster, but also much cheaper. In a conversation with CNBC`s Phil LeBeau, General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced $400 million in savings by working with Tesla. According to this, the expansion of the recharging stations will not amount to the originally planned 750 million US dollars, but only to about 300 million US dollars.

But Tesla could also benefit from this deal. The collaborations with two of America's leading automakers could put pressure on both other automakers and American government (which itself is spending billions of U.S. dollars to expand charging stations) to adapt to Tesla's technology. It is thus possible that even more e-car manufacturers will follow the lead of Ford and General Motors. As a result, Tesla's charging stations could become the industry standard to which all others must adapt, which could also secure future revenues.

Investors probably also recognize the potential of this deal, as both General Motors' and Tesla's stock reacted positively to the announcement of the collaboration. Experts already rate the deal as a "win-win." In addition to the exclusive opportunities for Tesla, CEO Elon Musk emphasized the importance of such a venture for the entire industry. According to him, it gives competitors access to Tesla's advanced technology to drive the "electric vehicle revolution."

Tesla customers, on the other hand, have not reacted only positively to the deals. One concern is the waiting times at the charging stations, which could naturally increase due to a higher number of users. This suspicion is reinforced by the fact that Elon Musk has announced that he will treat all users equally. Tesla wants to solve this problem by constantly expanding the charging infrastructure.