Tesla will open its charging network to GM’s electric vehicles

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 its future battery-powered models would use the charging plug standard pioneered by Tesla.

The announcement, which came two weeks after Ford struck a similar deal, is likely to make Tesla’s technology the industry standard and pressure companies racing to build similar networks as electric vehicle sales soar.

The battle between Tesla’s charging plugs and those currently used by Ford, GM and the other automakers recalls the competition between Betamax and VHS videocassettes in the 1980s. VHS eventually won the battle and Betamax equipment became obsolete.

GM CEO Mary T. Barra made the announcement during a streamed Twitter conversation with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Both described the deal as positive for consumers.

“This is fundamentally going to be great for driving electric car adoption,” Musk said, adding that he would make sure Tesla wouldn’t use its control of the country’s largest charging network to penalize competitors.

Investors welcomed the deal. Share prices of Tesla and GM rose about 3 percent during extended trading on Thursday.