Items tagged with SuperCharger
It looks as though one of the best parts about owning a Tesla will soon become less exclusive. Ever since the Model S launched a decade ago, Tesla has built out an extensive Supercharger network in the United States and around the globe. The network is only accessible to Tesla owners and allows them to [relatively] quickly charge their vehicles when making long road trips (Tesla doesn't recommend relying solely on Supercharging to preserve the battery). In a tweet yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Supercharger network would open to competing electric vehicle manufacturers in the United States starting later this year. This would give non-Tesla EV owners yet another option to choose...
Read more...
Tesla has been in the news frequently over the past few months, namely for its new and comically fast Model S Plaid sedan and for the late arrival of the Full Self Driving Beta v9 software. Now, Elon Musk is making headlines for an upcoming upgrade to Tesla's vast Supercharger network. Tesla's last big Supercharger V3 update occurred in mid-2019 when the on-site charging stations were upgraded from 150 kW to 250 kW output. Musk confirmed today that the next evolutionary bump of its Supercharger network would boost output to 300 kW. However, we don't know if this bump in capacity will result in a Supercharger V4 designation. Not bad, although new Model S has more range & faster charging. 3...
Read more...
There's been a rash of negativity swirling around Tesla in the past week. First, the company announced that it was killing its referral program, which gave Model S, Model X, and Model 3 owners sweet prizes (including free Tesla Roadsters). Then, Elon Musk announced that the company would be cutting its workforce by 7 percent in order to increase probability – this came after the company increased its headcount by 30 percent in 2018. But in a bit of good news for company, Tesla says that its Model 3 has now been given the go-ahead for sales in Europe. Now that the initial rush of buyers in the United States has died down a bit (customers in the U.S. can now get a new custom-ordered...
Read more...
At a time when Tesla is struggling to keep up with demand for the Model 3, it has taken a rather curious turn with regards to its vast Supercharger Station network. If you recall, Superchargers are used to fast charge Tesla EVs, and were at a time free for all Model S and Model X owners. However, Tesla began charging new customers "a small fee" for that privilege on January 1st, 2017 (although an annual of 400 kWh is included in the purchase price). A new report shows that the fee that Tesla has been charging customers will increase dramatically for some customers. According to Electrek, rates have increased on average between 20 to 40 percent across all markets in the United States. For example,...
Read more...
If you’re the current owner of a Tesla Model S or Model X electric vehicle (EV), consider yourself lucky. If you manage to take delivery before the end of the year, you will have also dodged a bullet — you still have free lifetime access to Tesla’s Supercharger Network. But in a rather disappointing turn of events for future Tesla owners, the global Supercharger Network will no longer be completely free to use for new EV purchases made after January 1st, 2017. Tesla is hoping to make this bitter pill a little easier to swallow by giving new buyers 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits annually. This is equivalent to roughly 1,000 miles of emissions-free driving. Once that 400 kWh is exhausted,...
Read more...
When Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk lifted the veil on the Model 3, customers quickly emptied their wallets to get their place in line to purchase the $35,000 electric vehicle (EV). After all, it’s hard to argue with a sleek-looking [green] vehicle that seats five, can hit 60 mph in under six seconds, can travel over 215 miles on a charge and costs under $30,000 after federal tax incentives are accounted for (even lower in Colorado). But Musk was a bit coy about Supercharging support for the Model 3. Model S and Model X owners have free access to Tesla’s nationwide charging network, and it was initially stated that the Model 3 would indeed support Supercharging. However, many have wondered if the...
Read more...
Tesla Motors’ entry-level Model S all-electric sedan is getting a major upgrade today. The previous base offering, the Model S 60 featured a 60 kWh battery, a single (rear-mounted) 380hp electric motor, and an EPA-rated driving range of 208 miles. The new Model S 70D is better in every way bringing with it a 70 kWh lithium-ion battery, dual electric motors (a front-mounted motor joins the existing rear motor) with a combined 514hp, and an EPA driving range of 240 miles. As for performance, Tesla says that the Model S 70D will rocket to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of 140 mph. This significant upgrade doesn’t come with a hefty price increase either (relatively speaking). The...
Read more...
For all the excitement and fanfare Tesla Motors enjoyed when it entered the Chinese market more than a year ago, the electric car manufacturer is fighting weak sales now. CEO Elon Musk has returned to China to help the company improve its image there and get sales back on track. At least part of the problem for Tesla in China has been a fear that customers have had in the United States: range anxiety, which is the worry that your car will run out of battery power before you can find an appropriate charger. While Tesla proved to Americans that they could easily charge their Tesla vehicles, that’s proven to be a tougher sell in China. Part of the problem may have been the sales people themselves....
Read more...
We learned earlier this week that Tesla had a plan in the works that would end range anxiety — a fear that an electric vehicle will run out of juice before it can be plugged in to recharge — for its electric vehicles. Today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a new initiative to deal with range anxiety. Over the next two weeks, Model S electric vehicles will automatically download an over-the-air (OTA) update that will install the Range Assurance app on the vehicle. Range Assurance is a background process that runs all the time and maintains a real-time communications link with Tesla’s Supercharger network. Using information gleaned from the charging network, the vehicle will be able to alert the...
Read more...
A platform is usually only as great as the infrastructure that supports it, even if that platform just so happens to be an automobile. While the Tesla idea is a sound one, it isn't apt to end up in the mainstream garage until there's a vast array of chargers. If you can't get a charge without going too far out of your way, your ride is as good as toast. That's why Tesla is doubling down on its "Supercharger" network, and recently, it expanded once again. Tesla Superchargers allow Model S owners to travel for free between cities along well-traveled highways in North America, Europe and Asia. As of today, there are 105 stations in North America, with "complete" west and east coast travel that'll...
Read more...
The two teams of Tesla drivers that set out to complete a cross-country road rally driving electric Model S sedans and using only Tesla’s Supercharger stations to recharge have completed the trek in an impressive 76 and a half hours. It’s a Guinness World Record for the fastest cross-country journey via electric car, and they may have set another record for the lowest amount of charge time, too. The total energy consumed was 1,197.8 kWh, and each car drove 3,464.5 miles without using any gasoline or paying for the juice at the Supercharger stations. The Tesla drivers who were behind the wheel when the cars crossed the finish line Along the way, they encountered a blizzard in Colorado...
Read more...
John Glenney and his daughter Jill were the first people to complete a cross-country trip in a Tesla Model S electric car, and their experience is perfect PR for Tesla, which just completed its coast-to-coast network of Supercharger stations. “The father and daughter had covered a distance of 3,400 miles through 16 states, taking in 28 Supercharger stops along the way. Grand total spent on fuel: zero dollars,” reads a blog post summarizing the Glenney’s trip. John Glenney No doubt inspired by the Glenneys, Tesla Motors is conducting a road rally across the country from L.A. to New York in a pair of Tesla S sedans to set a Guiness world record for “lowest charge time for...
Read more...
Although it’s not exactly on par with the completion of, say, the first transcontinental railroad, Tesla has completed a coast-to-coast network of Supercharger stations to allow drivers of the Model S electric sedan to road trip across the country--for free. It’s a rather circuitous path, not at all a straight shot; starting from the Northwest, you can drive from Seattle down through L.A., over to New England, and down to the tip of Florida. Parts of Texas have them, too. Elon Musk tweeted that now, 80% of the U.S. population is covered with the 71 stations. More stations on that route on “coming soon”, and later this year and into 2015, it looks like the whole country...
Read more...
A few days ago, the New York Times published an article criticizing the range and performance of the Tesla Model S in cold weather. The author, John Broder, claimed that the car performed poorly in cold weather and that he eventually had to have the vehicle towed to its destination on a flatbed. When Elon Musk strenuously contested Broder's claims of subpar performance, the author doubled down. In a follow-up article for the New York Times, Broder claims that he charged the vehicle properly, reduced his speed to 45 mph, and turned down the heater temperature in an attempt to compensate for the vehicle's fast-draining battery. Today, Musk released the extensive data logs that Tesla keeps on the...
Read more...
