Why Tesla’s EV Plugs Are Becoming Industry Standard: QuickTake

When Tesla Inc. introduced its battery-powered Model S sedan in 2012, it included a proprietary plug for recharging used by no other automaker. The company also installed its own network of high-speed chargers exclusively for Teslas. Rival carmakers took a different approach. They used a variety of plug designs and relied on independent companies to build and operate public charging networks using those plugs. Then suddenly this spring, Ford Motorand General Motorsannounced that their future electric vehicles would use Tesla’s charging gear, and Rivian, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz quickly followed. Breathless headlines proclaimed that Tesla “won the charging ...