Superchargers

150kW Supercharger mega test

They took 6 cars to the Supercharger in the middle of the night to do a 5% to 90% charge test with the new 2019.12 software that unlocks 150kW peak rate.

150kW Supercharging now even faster! Comparison Test | Model 3 LR 2019.20.2.1

Advocates band together to clean up Tesla’s Supercharging stations

If you follow us on Twitter you probably saw us tweeting about this. After a few people tweeted pictures of Superchargers with a lot of trash laying around, a few owners have organized themselves and decided to take care of their local Superchargers. Great initiative!

Read more: CleanTechnica

Another end-of-quarter means referral program updates

We are in the last month of Q3 and Tesla - as always - is trying to add incentives for folks to get a new Tesla. This means you and anyone using your referral link can now earn 2,000 miles of free Supercharging when purchasing a new Tesla car or solar panels as long as this happens before October 1st. If you are in the market for a new Tesla and need a code to get this free Supercharging ,you can use our referral code https://www.tesla.com/referral/ignacio9266

Read more: Tesla

Another tryout of Tesla Supercharger v3

9% - 50% 12 min
9% - 60% 15 min
9% - 70% 19 min
9% - 80% 25 min
9% - 90% 35 min

Read more: Twitter

Changes to Supercharging billing

California is introducing a new law to regulate how EV chargers should be billed and with it, Tesla is about to change the calculation they use to bill for Supercharging. Owners will also be billed for kWh consumed by the car going towards the HVAC system, battery heater, etc. If you ask me, this makes a lot of sense ( I wasn’t even aware this wasn’t the case).

Read more: Twitter

Charging costs of a Model 3 traveling between states

Last week we highlighted a story about road trips and Tesla, this week I wanted to highlight charging during a road trip. According to this Model 3 owner who recently traveled between Maryland and Washington state and back (6,300 miles!), he only spent ~$350 in charging the car. This same trip would’ve cost about ~$586 with a mid-size gas car in the US. If you’re curious to know the rest of the trip conditions and facts, check out the post.

Destination Superchargers locations

Have you ever stayed at a hotel and didn’t realize there was a Supercharger? How many are there and where? Here’s a spreadsheet with some numbers. “Looking at the numbers it seems that destination chargers are distributed in proportion to the total population of a country rather than by the number of tesla owners of a country."- says Arxcis.

See more: Google doc

Factors that can influence Superchargers speeds

Outside temperature, battery pack temperature, battery state of charge when you plug in, sharing stalls, etc. are some of the reasons that may cause different charge rates at Superchargers. Check out the complete list.

Read more: Reddit

Find the most affordable Supercharging rates

Tesla has started a pilot to share when charging rates are lower according to demand and electricity rates in your area. Smart move since it’s a big win for Tesla owners but, in addition, it should be able to reduce waiting times at busy Superchargers, especially during peak hours.

First CCS Supercharger in Norway

In Homestrand (Norway), 4 of 16 stalls have now dual chargers. First M3’s are expected in February.

Read more: Reddit

First-ever Supercharger station, Hawthorne, just permanently closed

It is sad to see the first Supercharger station ever built gone, especially at such an iconic location (the Tesla studio at Hawthorne). I’ve heard that one of the reasons for it is that Space X, next door from Tesla there, got a few secrets exposed by curious folks at the Supercharger, and this way Space X should be able to have tighter security in the area. I guess I will never get to see it, at least Vanessa was able to.

Free unlimited Supercharging extended for MS and MX with referral program

The latest round of Tesla’s referral program for owners was supposed to end on July 15th, but the automaker has extended it for two more weeks – maintaining the opportunity for new buyers to get free unlimited Supercharging for Model S and Model X vehicles a little longer.

Why only two weeks? Is Tesla preparing something else?

Read more: Electrek

Growth of Tesla Superchargers all over the world - Nov 2012 to Feb 2019

Read more: Reddit

Harris Ranch V3 expansion

More than 100 stalls coming to Harris Ranch. It currently has 13 stalls and this change will make this Supercharger the world’s largest one. Is it me or every couple of months or so we get a new world largest Supercharger now?
Several folks have reported this at the same time. According to some sources (or maybe only one?), Tesla is building the production line in Fremont and plans to ship it to Giga Texas, and start production sometime in Q3. Do you think is possible?

How pairing at Supercharging works

This isn’t new content but it’s usually not clear how Superchargers work, so here it comes. Two stalls at Superchargers share one charger. For example, 2A and 2B are connected to charger #2 and sharing power. As a rule of thumb, when you are at a Supercharger try to pick stalls that have both A and B stations open, that way you won’t be penalized as much.

Read more: TMC Forum

Ideas for your next Tesla road trip

As charging infrastructure grows across the country, electric car manufacturers are reassuring owners that long road trips are just as feasible as with fossil-fuel powered vehicles.

To illustrate this, USA TODAY asked electric car maker Tesla to identify charging options on five popular long distance routes across the country.

Read more: USA TODAY

Invoice from Tesla technician who showed up at a Supercharger

This Redditor posted about their experience at a Supercharger where a Tesla technician showed up, Tesla sent him there to see if he could assist and he helped this owner by checking tire pressure as well as degradation, all for free 🤩

Kettleman City is upgrading to V3

Kettleman City is for sure at the top of my favorite Superchargers. If you happen to be in California and drive close by, stop for a quick charge and a latte. This week this Supercharger is getting even more awesome since Tesla started converting its stalls to V3. It’s great news that soon- maybe even on time for Thanksgiving?- we will have 40 V3 Superchargers between LA and SF!

Read more: Reddit

Latest software improves Tesla Supercharger times by up to 25%

Good news for owners that have a Model S or X, the latest software - thanks to warming up battery when you head to a Supercharger - improves supercharging times by up to 25%. It is pretty amazing that cars from 2012 are still getting better! For now if you use the navigation when heading to a Supercharger, that way your car will charge faster.

According to Elon, between the software update, the new v3, and the increase in power in v2, Superchargers charge time will drop by a factor of 2 for the whole Tesla fleet and a factor of 4 for Model 3s. These changes more than double total Supercharger system throughput worldwide.

Read more: Twitter

Los Angeles to Las Vegas supercharger guide & review

EThe main qualities of superchargers evaluated and shared by Taxhero (thanks for that!) are:

Apart from the overall score or the supercharger, in this thread Taxhero analyzes the following qualities of the superchargers between Los Angeles and Las Vegas: availability, accessibility, amenities, restrooms, food options, and proximity to amenities.

The superchargers reviewed are Rancho Cucamonga, Yermo, Baker, and Primm.

Thank for sharing!

Read more: Reddit

Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon

We talked about it a few issues ago, there is a new Supercharger coming to Santa Monica. According to Elon, it will feature a 50’s dinner and will play the 100 best movie clips. 😋

Model X/S specs now showing 250kW Supercharging max

Both specs of the Model S and Model X have recently been updated indicating 250kW of Supercharging. Meanwhile, Elon has shared on Twitter that ‘technically, it won’t be quite 1000 mph charging’ but also ‘a Model X bought in Dec. 2019 may be able to reach 250kW at low states of charge’. Some changes in the wiring had to be done for this, thus this doesn’t seem something that is going to be possible for older Raven Model S and X.

New Supercharger with 56 stalls in Firebaugh, California

Tesla keeps on adding new Supercharger locations and extending current ones. Here’s an impressive new location with 56 stalls - the largest Supercharger in the world yet - in Firebaugh, California.

One year of free Supercharging for new Model 3 and Model Y owners

In an effort to bump end-of-the-year sales, Tesla is offering one year of free Supercharging with Model Y and Model 3 purchases. To qualify for it, the purchase needs to be between Dec. 12th and Dec. 31st, and Standard Range Plus (SR+) variant is not included. Hope they make it to the 500,000 vehicles sold in 2020! If you are shopping for a new Tesla and we have been useful to you, please use our referral code http://ts.la/ignacio9266

Pre-fabricated concrete Tesla pedestals for Superchargers

We saw some Superchargers already mounted and ready to install the other week. Now, here are some pre-fabricated concrete pedestals. Clearly, Tesla is trying to get creative and expedite the time that it takes to build a Supercharger station.

Squeegee stations being added to some Supercharger locations (finally!)

Tesla’s Supercharger network is gradually starting to replace gas stations for Tesla owners, but it has so far been missing an important tool that drivers find at gas stations: a squeegee.

Now it looks like Tesla is finally starting to add the requested feature to some Supercharger stations. Next car air pumps!

Read more: Electrek

Supercharger network is being upgraded from 250kW to 300kW

One of the concerns drivers transitioning from ICE cars to EVs have is how long it takes to charge them on the road. This is constantly getting better and better with increases in battery capacity and faster charging, and now, with new Superchargers increasing from 250kW to 300kW, the charging times will improve even more. Personally, I don’t mind the current speed of charging and battery of my Model Y, I like to stretch my legs every 3 hours of driving or so plus, when not on the road, there is the benefit of being able to charge in my garage and not having to drive to a gas station.

Supercharger network will open to other EVs later this year

This week Elon also confirmed on Twitter, in a reply to our friend Rafael (Teslatino), what up until now were mainly just rumors about Tesla opening their Supercharger network to other EVs. It looks like it’s going to happen later this year. While there are some mixed opinions in the community, and it seems like the majority of Tesla owners aren’t that happy about other cars taking the charging spots, in my opinion, making the Supercharger network accessible to others at a premium will not only help accelerate the world’s transition to EVs but also, hopefully, fund the opening of new Supercharging stations around the globe.

Superchargers now show which stall is out of service

A while ago, Tesla started showing out of service stalls on the car’s screen. Just now, they also started showing which ones are the ones not working, which is great. Who hasn’t gone at least once to a Supercharger and had to change stalls because the one they picked was out of service? Really cool to see they keep improving this!

Superchargers, Superchargers everywhere

Even though it’s not on the supercharger.info site yet, it seems like Tesla is building its biggest Supercharger location yet with, wait for it, 56 stalls!! Check out the constructions pics taken in Firebaugh, (North) California. At the same time, this week we received a tip from @nwbailey with a picture of a Tesla sign taken in ROW DTLA, (South) California, saying 200+ V3 stalls are coming in 2021 in LA METRO. So much needed!

Tesla changes Supercharger prices

This is two stories in one. Last week Tesla increased the price of the kWh by almost 33% in most countries but then a few days later, and after a lot of complaints from users, it decreased the price by 10% to keep people happy. In a few days, the price of the kWh in California went from $0.26 per kWh to $0.34 per kWh and now is down to $0.28 kWh which is only about a 10% increase from the original price.

Read more: Electrek here and here

Tesla confirms plan to open Supercharger network to other automakers next year

Norwegian government officials confirmed that Tesla told them that it plans to open the Supercharger network to other automakers by September 2022. The Supercharger network is by far the best EV network out there, Tesla starting to open it up will contribute to accelerating the transition to sustainable energy although it might be negative for Tesla owners given that stalls will get busier with other EVs.

Tesla debuts massive V3 Supercharger station in the heart of Las Vegas Strip

This Supercharger station has 24 V3 charging stalls and 15 additional Tesla wall connectors. The wall connectors are powered by solar panels during the day and by power walls at night. Honestly, this Supercharger looks amazing! And on top of that, it’s great news that Tesla is already installing V3 Superchargers outside of the beta test locations and that they are using a full Tesla solar system to power them. This makes possible installing Superchargers that are independent from the electirc grid opening it up to more remote locations.

We know that Simon - the author of the article - is a susbcriber of Tesletter; Simon if you are reading 👋

Tesla expands trademark registration

Tesla expands trademark registration to cover “restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services”. We have talked many times in this newsletter about Tesla’s intention to open a 50’s diner in one Supercharger in LA, seems like in preparation Tesla just extended their trademark 🍔

Tesla is adding automatic payment at chargers to facilitate apartment charging and more

Tesla has recently been making moves to enable payments at charging stations in its Destination Charging network, but it also enables charging electric vehicles at apartments. Hopefully, this encourages more places to include chargers!

Tesla is extending the time to use free Supercharging miles

Given the current events around COVID-19, Elon Musk has said on Twitter they will extend the period of time to use the free Supercharging miles earned through the referral program- which is normally 6 months. This is great news for those with one or two referrals that are expiring soon, way to go Tesla!

Tesla offering free Supercharging on 4th of July holiday weekend (California)

As an incentive to alleviate the Superchargers during a busy weekend, Tesla is offering free Supercharging between July 2nd and July 5th for those who charge before 12 pm and after 9 pm and at 25 Superchargers, list in the article.

Tesla original Supercharging event from 2012

Tesla had 4 Supercharger locations with 4 stalls in 2012. Fast forward to the present, Tesla has almost 1,400 locations with 11,400 stalls. Just wow.

Tesla partners with Target to install new/more Superchargers in major US cities

Tesla is partnering with Target to install more Superchargers all around the US. Have been wising for one in your area? See if it’s on the list? Thank you @TeslaOwnersEBay and @MontrealTesla for the tip!

Tesla ramps up first V3 Supercharger installations for Europe

Tesla V3 Superchargers for Europe being made in the Buffalo Gigafactory 2 are planned to arrive in Europe in early April. We’re not sure what’s going to happen with their installation due to current events, but we hope that France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands can get their promised permanent V3 Superchargers soon.

Tesla says all Supercharger energy will be renewable in 2021

On Earth Day, Tesla announced that it has plans to power all Superchargers with renewable energy by the end of 2021. Awesome news!

Tesla started rolling out 2020.12.5 earlier this week and it brings Dashcam Viewer

Tesla started rolling out 2020.12.5 in mass last Monday night (Tuesday morning in Europe) and as I read somewhere, it’s like we’re having a second Christmas update this year. Main features include:

• Dashcam viewer to view Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos directly on the touchscreen
• Out of order Supercharger stalls
• New launch mode (Raven Model X/S only)
• Cones now visible with HW2.5 and MCU2

We haven’t had a chance of trying the Dashcam Viewer ourselves but we have spoken with owners who installed the update- thank you @CodingMark- and it looks very neat. One thing we discovered is you can actually watch any movie/video from your USB drive or storage device in your Tesla’s screen now 🤯

Tesla Supercharger 75D, 85D, 90D, 100D 0-99%

Tesla Supercharger capacity will double by end of next year

More and faster Superchargers coming next year, according to Elon’s Twitter: “Tesla Supercharger capacity will double by end of next year. Expect to be within range of 95% to 100% of population in all active markets.”

Read more: Twitter

Tesla Supercharger locations 2013-2018

From 68 to 1,430 in 5 years, that is impressive!

Read more: Reddit

Tesla Supercharger map to be updated soon

According to a tweet by Elon Musk, Tesla is working on permits and construction of new Superchargers and the map should be updated soon. Stay tuned!

Read more: Twitter

Tesla Superchargers are being made accessible to other electric cars

Tesla’s Supercharging network is not only beneficial to Tesla but also to other EVs. A true fact, although not so well known by most, is that Superchargers and in fact being made accessible to other electric vehicles.

Tesla to start a test project in Norway to incentivize owners to avoid traveling on peak days

Tesla is planning on reducing Supercharging prices by 50% to see if they’re able to influence the days people travel and prevent them to do it on peak days. Nice idea, I assume the Tesla population is big enough for Tesla to try this, which is also a great thing!

Tesla unlocks 150 kW at V2 Superchargers in Europe

I’ve heard this from a bunch of people in Spain - I’m originally from Spain but have been in the US for 8 years now - and it seems like Tesla has upgraded a log of their v2 Superchargers to 150kW. These Superchargers where at 120kW before.

Read more: InsideEVs

Tesla's first V3 Supercharging stations are open to the public

Fremont’s Supercharger is open again and is on the V3 Supercharging (up to 250kWh). Don’t go there just now, you need the latest software 2019.20.1 on your car to get the higher charging rate. Anyhow, it is exciting that Tesla is starting to roll this out.

Read more: Engadget

The largest American Supercharger location with solar, battery storage, lounge, and restrooms

Tesla is planning a 62 stall V3 urban location in Santa Monica. This will be the largest American Supercharger location with solar, battery storage, lounge, and restrooms. Hope this becomes a reality soon!

Tips for long distance trips with a Tesla

Using RV parkings (with real toilets and hot showers!), going for walks during charge stops, keeping it flexible for ‘surprise’ destinations, and having lunch at Superchargers are some of the recommendations shared by Tesla drivers.

Read more: Reddit

Trailer friendly Supercharger locations

Do you ever wish you’d know if a Supercharger location is trailer friendly or not? This one below in Lillesand, Norway is and has designated spots for trailers. And here’s a thread with other locations put together collaboratively by fellow Tesla owners on the TMC Forum (the thread is a bit old but still super helpful).

Read more: TMC Forum

Updated Supercharger pricing structure, new in-car payment feature

The idle fee update will impact all Model S, Model X, and Model 3 drivers, current idle fee is $0.40/minute and it was updated on Sep 19th as follows:

• Supercharger 50% occupied: $0.50/minute idle fee
• Supercharger 100% occupied: $1.00/minute idle fee

Additionally, Tesla has begun to roll out an over-the-air software update (not Version 9) that will include a new in-car payment feature. Please be a good citizen and move your car if the Supercharger is semi busy so other people can charge!

Read more: Teslarati

V3 Supercharging curve (M3LR vs. MS Plaid)

Interesting to see the Plaid Model S keeping the peak kW for 5% more SOC and having higher values for another 5%, which translates into faster charging.

Whoever did this, thank you for being awesome

Nice gesture at a busy Supercharger. Thank you u/infinite-dark for sharing.

Read more: Reddit