Tesla, Inc. TSLA recently struck two deals with Detroit's "Big Two" – General Motors Corp. GM and Ford Motor Co. F — allowing their electric cars access to its charging infrastructure.
Former Ford CEO Mark Fields weighed in on the development and what it means for Tesla and the two legacy automakers.
Pragmatic Move: The decision by Ford and GM to align with their rival in the EV arena was a pragmatic move, Fields said in an interview with CNBC.
The build-out of the charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with the number of new EVs products these companies are bringing to the marketplace and the ramping up of their production, he said.
"What Ford and GM get out of this is not just an increased number of chargers but the dependability of them," Fields said, adding that the current combined charging system is not so dependable. He sees the partnership as all about the consumer experience.
See Also: Everything You Need to Know About Tesla Stock
Tesla At Disadvantage? Fields also shed insights into fears about whether Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a "deal with the devil," effectively advertising competitors' products.
"Tesla has a unique knack of getting revenue out of their competitors," the former Ford executive said.
He referred to Tesla selling EV tax credits to other automakers that were not meeting their fuel economy requirements. Now, the Musk-led company is doing the same with its charging business, he said.
Fields noted that Tesla has been building the charging infrastructure for over a decade and the service has high customer satisfaction.
"That’s important for the automakers because, yes they’re giving some money to their competitor but at the same time they’re thinking about how they’re gonna you know turbocharge their own sales and also about repeat sales the next time the customer buys an EV comes back into the marketplace," he said.
When asked about potential disgruntlement among Tesla users, who may not like the loss of exclusivity and dilution of experiences, Fields said the EV pioneer has to strike the right balance.
Tesla can come up with some creative things like having charging stations at its locations just for Tesla cars to actually create those kinds of special clubs, the auto industry veteran said.
He also noted that the sharing of charging infrastructure was only at 12,000 of the locations. Tesla could have more as it has been swift in building charging infrastructure, he added.
Tesla also has data on where the prime locations are and it can use that for deciding which charging areas can be made available to non-Tesla owners.
Tesla stock ended Monday's session 2.22% higher at $249.83, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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