June 8 Reuters General Motors will join Ford in adopting Tesla39;s North American charging plug standard and give GM electricvehicle buyers access to the Tesla Supercharger network under an agreement announced on Thursday.

GM39;s move, which follows a similar decision by Ford to embrace Tesla39;s charging plug standard, means three of the top EV sellers in the North American market have now agreed on a standard for charging hardware. The agreement was announced by GM CEO Mary Barra and Tesla chief Elon Musk in a Twitter Spaces event.

Investors applauded the deal, and the prospect of one charging hardware standard for the North American market. GM shares rose more than 4 after the bell and Tesla shares rose 4.

The alliance among the three leading rival U.S. EV manufacturers has significant commercial and public policy implications.

The Biden administration made adoption of a rival combined charging system CCS standard a requirement in order for companies to be eligible for billions of dollars of federal subsidies for new charging stations on some 7,500 miles 12,070 km of the nation39;s busiest roadways. The alliance among Tesla, Ford and GM challenges the White House39;s direction.

But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC in May after the FordTesla deal that the industry will eventually converge on one system but that adapters would allow cross usage.

Tesla, GM and Ford together account for about 70 of current U.S. EV sales. Industry executives see…