DETROIT (NEWSnet/AP) — Electric vehicles made by General Motors will be able to use much of Tesla's charging network starting early next year, under an agreement the two companies announced Thursday.

With this step, GM will adopt the style of Tesla's connector, the plug that links an electric vehicle to a charging station. GM CEO Mary Barra and her Tesla counterpart, Elon Musk, made the announcement Thursday on Twitter.

Ford has already announced it is shifting its electric vehicle connections to work with about 12,000 of Tesla's roughly 17,000 chargers, and both Detroit automakers are pushing to make Tesla's connector the industry standard.

Their discussion comes two weeks after Ford CEO Jim Farley joined Musk to announce that Ford's electric vehicles would gain access to much of Tesla's EV-charging network, the largest in the nation.

At first, GM and Ford EV owners will need an adapter to hook into the Tesla stations, which have their own connector. But both GM and Ford will switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard connector starting with new EVs produced in 2025.

There are about 54,000 public charging stations in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, but many of them charge a vehicle much more slowly than the 17,000 Tesla stations.

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