Tesla Model S
How to use a Tesla Supercharger and what to expect
Today I had to drop off my mother-in-law at Providence airport and I used it as an excuse to make my first Tesla Supercharger visit at the East Greenwich, RI Supercharger. This is currently the northern-most Supercharger on the east coast in the US and located 10 minutes south of Providence Airport (PVD).
I decided not to charge up the night before and left my Model S with 127 miles of range on it. With that amount of range I would have enough to get to the airport, drive to the Supercharger and still drive home if for some reason the Supercharger didn’t work.
Connecting to the Tesla Supercharger
Superchargers appear to have different layouts depending on the location, some you back into while others require you to pull forward – this one is the former. You’ll want to be pretty close to the Supercharger since the cable is relatively short. The charger will always need to be to the left side of the car since that’s where the charge port door is. The rear view camera helps a ton and combined with the parking sensors really allow you to get close without being too close. I love how the parking sensor displays your proximity measurements (in inches for the US).
Once parked and situated you’ll want to pop open the charge port and insert the thick Supercharger cable. I had some difficulties with this at first and encountered a red ring indicating that there was a bad connection.
I pushed the handle in with a bit more force and noticed the red indicator light started to pulsate in green. The center touchscreen read “Preparing for charge” and so I waited. To my surprise the next message popped up and said “unable to charge” so I got out of the car, unplugged the cable and firmly reseated it once more. I waited through the same preparation phase until the car finally began to start charging.
I’ve heard from other owners that Tesla Supercharger connections can be a bit finicky at times so if you don’t succeed at first, try again before moving onto another charging bay.
Supercharger Charging Sequence
Once you’ve successfully made it past the charge preparation sequence, the car will indicate that it’s starting to charge and display the voltage and amperage in which you’re charging at. It takes a few seconds before it ramps up to its peak charge rate which for me read 346 miles/hour at 262A/374V. The peak rate of charge will vary depending on whether its the older 90kW or newer 120kW Superchargers.
Supercharging
I explored the shopping center where the Supercharger station was located. In fact the Supercharger bays at this location was simply eight additional parking spots slotted next to a Walgreens. There’s also an Outback, Ruby Tuesdays, Panera and McDonalds in the area all within walking distance. I decided to go into Panera for a warm drink. It was 40 degrees and approaching May – welcome to New England.
Another thing I noticed at the location is that 5 slots are marked for “Tesla Electric Vehicle” whereas the other 3 are marked for general parking 30 minutes. While I was sitting there waiting for my charge, a Walgreens customer took advantage of the 30 minute parking rule for a brief moment, but otherwise the slots were all open for Tesla owners. New England still ranks pretty low in terms of Tesla ownership per capita.
My charge finished at exactly 50 minutes taking me from 67 miles of rated range to 242 miles of rated range at a 90% state of charge. This equated to 175 miles of charge in 50 minutes. My understanding of the rate of charge can go even higher when you start your charge from near-zero but i’d have a serious case of range anxiety if I did that.
All the displays on the car through the process were great. The one thing I wish they did was give you an estimated time to charge complete. The calculation isn’t simple since they’re varying charge over time, it depends on the state of the Supercharger, if the bay next to you is empty, etc. If it would pop up and say “You’ve got about 45 minutes to do something else” it would have been more helpful. I’m sure some smart people at Tesla can figure out how to do that.
In the end, I got 175 miles of range for free and the experience was great. Now all I need is an excuse to take an extended Supercharger road trip!
News
Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X
Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.
Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.
Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.
This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.
Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.
Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.
New factory blue, coming soon to a Model X near you pic.twitter.com/3CuN4j1ipq
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.
He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:
New color too! If you know what you’re looking for you know that this is factory paint and not a wrap. pic.twitter.com/jBYrimZIQT
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:
New paint color for Model S/X 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Pb27JruhXs
— Henry (@supergeek18) May 24, 2025
Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.
However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:
“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”
It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.
News
Tesla’s new Model S and X spotted, but they leave a lot to be desired
The Model S and Model X testing mules spotted by The Kilowatts have few minor visual changes.
Tesla has been hinting for a few months now that the flagship Model S and Model X would be getting some attention in 2025 as the vehicles continue to be sold in extremely low volumes.
Both models seem to be under the knife, especially as their newest versions were spotted in California earlier this week.
However, images of the vehicles seem to show that Tesla is not planning a major overhaul, which begs the question: why even do it in the first place?
Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X
The Model S and Model X are grouped with the Cybertruck in Tesla’s quarterly delivery releases, and Q1 saw just 12,881 units of the three cars delivered. The Cybertruck likely made up the majority of this number, as some outlets reported around 6,400 deliveries of the all-electric pickup in Q1.
This is unconfirmed.
The Model S and Model X have stuck around for “sentimental reasons,” according to CEO Elon Musk, who said back in 2021:
“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”
However, the cars seem to be in need of a serious refresh. As Tesla changed up the exterior aesthetic on both the Model 3 and Model Y, recent images captured of the Model X by The Kilowatts seem to show this is not the strategy with the Model X or Model S:
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
As we can see, the overall aesthetic of the X, if this is what Tesla plans to release, has literally no changes from a purely visual standpoint. There is the addition of the front bumper camera, which was first implemented on the Cybercab unveiled in October 2024, and then on the new Model Y this year.
There are some new 20″ wheels, and the interior has been fitted with ambient lighting.
The Model S looked to be relatively the same, other than these few hardware changes, including a rear diffuser on this Plaid that was spotted:
Tesla is definitely doing some things 👀 pic.twitter.com/qchMiAWEoT
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) May 22, 2025
While these changes are welcome and should be beneficial, they don’t seem like they will encourage major sales growth, which might be something Tesla is okay with.
Admitting the two cars are low volume and not contributors to the company’s long-term goals, Musk is likely willing to just upgrade things to make these more compatible and better functioning with the Full Self-Driving suite.
Earlier this year, VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said the S and X were not going anywhere and would get “some love” before the end of 2025:
“Just give it a minute. We’ll get there. The upgrade a couple of years ago was bigger than most people thought in terms of architecture and structure of the car got a lot better, too. But, we’ll give it some love later this year and make sure it gets a little bit…you know, with the stuff we’ve been putting in 3 and Y. Obviously, with 3 and Y, the higher volume stuff, you’ve gotta focus there.”
It seems these strategies have held true — the S and X appear to be getting what the 3 and Y got with the ambient lighting and front bumper camera (at least on the Model Y).
U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by a convoy of Tesla electric vehicles today at the White House after he said last evening he would be buying one of the company’s cars in support of Elon Musk.
A variety of Tesla EVs, including the Model S, Cybertruck, and Model Y, all arrived in Washington on Tuesday around lunch time where the President sat in, examined, and mulled over which car he would choose. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that President Trump would be paying “full market price” for the vehicle.
CEO Elon Musk was alongside Trump to help make his decision:
Which Tesla did President Trump Choose?
After mulling the decision for several minutes, President Trump seemed to have gravitated toward the Tesla Model S Plaid in Deep Red, the company’s quickest and most luxurious offering, suitable for the leader of the U.S.
Trump said:
“The one I like is that one (Model S). And I want that same color. I’m going to give [Tesla] a check. I don’t want a discount.”
According to images shared from Washington, it seems Musk brought two Model S vehicles — one in Deep Red and another in Deep Blue Metallic — knowing that the President would probably choose that vehicle, but was unsure about the color.
Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X
President Trump’s Comments on Tesla and Elon Musk
President Trump has truly gained a meaningful working relationship with Musk, who he has called “a genius” and “brilliant” on several occasions. Regarding Tesla, the President said:
“Tesla’s a great company; They’re American cars, it’s American made. He employs thousands of people. He has the most modern plants in the world.”
In regards to the Tesla lineup, President Trump said:
“I know people that have these cars; It blows them away. They love them.”
When talking about the polarizing design of the Cybertruck, he said:
“In terms of imagination, and I think I have a pretty great imagination, who else but this guy would design this and everybody on the road is looking at it. As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘That’s the coolest design.’ You gotta give him (Elon) credit.”
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