Table of Contents
Last week, General Motors (GM) announced they will use Tesla’s charging plug standard for electric vehicles in North America. GM’s decision comes after Ford announced plans to use Tesla’s charging plug last month.
People who buy GM or Ford cars will also be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network which is tens of thousands of charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs).
Investors reacted positively to the news, and both GM’s and Tesla’s stock prices went up.
The agreement between the top three EV sellers in North America will have a big impact on EVs and charging in the US.
Previously, the US government said companies are required to use the “combined charging system” (CCS) standard in order to get subsidies for building charging stations. However, the new agreement between Ford, GM, and Tesla will probably change things.
A government official believes that eventually there will just be one charging standard.
Tesla, GM, and Ford are the main sellers of electric vehicles in the US, with about 70% of EV sales.
Experts think other carmakers may also start using Tesla’s charging standard. The new partnership puts pressure on other companies that use different standards. Charging companies like ChargePoint and EVgo stock prices went down after GM’s announcement.
Starting in 2025, GM will build EVs with Tesla’s charging plug standard. Current GM EV owners will also be able to use Tesla’s fast chargers with adapters.
Vocabulary
- Announce – share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Plug – the physical connector or attachment used to connect an electronic device or vehicle to a power source for charging; 🔌
- Standard – a set of rules or guidelines that are commonly accepted or followed
- Plan – want; aim; to intend to do something
- Tens of thousands – a large number between 10,000 and 99,999
- Charging station – A place where electric vehicles can recharge their batteries
- Investor – A person who puts money into a company or property and hopes to get a profit
- React – to respond or show a response to something that happens
- Stock price – the value or cost of a single share of a company’s stock in the financial market; the price of one small piece of a company which can be bought in a stock market like “the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street”
- Agreement – an understanding, plan or contract made between two or more people/groups
- Impact – influence; effect; consequence; to make change
- Previously – before; earlier; at an earlier time
- Government – the group of people who have the authority to make and enforce laws and manage a country or region; the people/group that manage and operate a country
- In order to – to; with the purpose or intention of achieving a specific outcome; so that
- Subsidy – financial support or assistance given by the government or an organization to help reduce the cost of a particular product or service
- Official – a person who works for the government or a government company and has power or authority; officer; executive
- Eventually – After a while or over time; later on
- Partnership – to have an agreement to work together; to be partners
- Put pressure on (someone) – To try to influence/persuade someone to do something; to make demands or expect something from someone
- Adapter – a device or tool that allows different parts or systems to work together, often by converting one type of connection or format to another.
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- What do you think about General Motors (GM) and Ford using Tesla’s charging plug for their electric cars? Do you think it’s a good idea? Why or why not?
- In the past, the US government wanted companies to use a different charging standard. What do you think about the idea of having just one standard for all electric cars? Would it be helpful or not? Why?
- Do you think Ford, GM, and Tesla working together is an important step in making more people switch to electric cars? Why or why not?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
