General Motors on Thursday said it had reached a deal that would allow its electric vehicles to use Tesla's extensive charging network. G.M. 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 comparable agreement, is likely to make Tesla's technology the industry standard and squeeze companies that are racing to build similar networks as sales of electric vehicles surge.

The battle between Tesla's charging plugs and the ones currently used by Ford, G.M. and the other automakers recalls the competition between Betamax and VHS video cassettes in the 1980s. VHS ultimately won the battle and Betamax equipment became obsolete.

The chief executive of G.M., Mary T. Barra, made the announcement during a streamed Twitter conversation with Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla. Both described the deal as positive for consumers.