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Tesla Supercharger V3 details: 250 kW, no charge splitting, twice as fast
Tesla launched its newest V3 Supercharger at an official unveiling event in Fremont, California, Wednesday night.
As we first reported, V3 Superchargers will be able to charge twice as fast the current generation Supercharger with a maximum power output of 250 kW or 1,000 miles per hour. Additionally, Tesla owners using V3 Superchargers will no longer need to split power with neighboring vehicles, thereby substantially increasing the charge rate and reducing the overall amount of charging time by nearly half.
Supercharger V3 details first surfaced Wednesday evening in Release Notes for a new over-the-air firmware update that went out to Model 3 owners, first captured by Erik @teslainventory on Twitter.
Tesla began to roll out the over-the-air firmware update to a small group of Model 3 owners that were invited to attend the official Supercharger V3 unveiling. Attendees are members of Tesla’s “Early Access Program” who will be one of the first to use Tesla’s next-generation Supercharger.
The firmware update went out ahead of the event to prepare these vehicles to accept the higher power output from Tesla’s newest ultra-fast chargers.
“Your Model 3 is now able to charge at V3 Superchargers at up to 250 kW peak rates. Supercharger stations with V3 hardware are designed to enable 
Of note is the final sentence in the section for “Supercharger Improvements”, which indicates that the firmware update will allow a vehicle to condition its batteries before arriving at a V3 Supercharger station. “Also, when you navigate to a Supercharger, your call will condition its battery during the drive, so it can charge faster,” reads the release note.
Preconditioning a battery isn’t something new for Tesla vehicles, especially for P100D owners looking to ‘Bring it on!‘ with Ludicrous Mode. Being able to optimize the temperature of the battery cells allows them to be in a state that can operate at higher current and thereby charge at the higher 250 kW power.
At the moment, our understanding is that only Model 3, which utilizes a newer generation 2170 cell compared to the older 18650 form factor cell found in Model S and Model X, will be able to V3 Supercharge at full potential.
Be sure to check back as we will update the story with full details and specifications for Tesla Supercharger V3.
Update: Tesla published details for V3 Supercharging in a company blog post (included below). A video of the fast charging speed can be seen in their video.
Introducing V3 Supercharging
Tesla has more than 12,000 Superchargers across North America, Europe, and Asia and our network continues to grow daily: more than 99% of the U.S. population is covered by the network, and we anticipate similar coverage in Europe by the end of 2019. Recently, we passed 90% population coverage in China and are growing that number quickly. However, in order to drive continued electric vehicle adoption and further accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, charging needs to be even faster, and the number of vehicles able to charge at a location in a day needs to be significantly higher. Today, we’re unveiling V3 Supercharging, the next step in the growth of Tesla’s Supercharger network. V3, which is born from our experience building the world’s largest grid-connected batteries, enables our vehicles to charge faster than any other electric vehicle on the market today.
Faster Charging, No More Power Sharing
V3 is a completely new architecture for Supercharging. A new 1MW power cabinet with a similar design to our utility-scale products supports peak rates of up to 250kW per car. At this rate, a Model 3 Long Range operating at peak efficiency can recover up to 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes and charge at rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. Combined with other improvements we’re announcing today, V3 Supercharging will ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging by an average of 50%, as modeled on our fleet data.
Supercharger stations with V3’s new power electronics are designed to enable any owner to charge at the full power their battery can take – no more splitting power with a vehicle in the stall next to you. With these significant technical improvements, we anticipate the typical charging time at a V3 Supercharger will drop to around 15 minutes.
On-Route Battery Warmup
New Supercharging infrastructure isn’t the only way we are improving our customers’ charging experience. Beginning this week, Tesla is rolling out a new feature called On-Route Battery Warmup. Now, whenever you navigate to a Supercharger station, your vehicle will intelligently heat the battery to ensure you arrive at the optimal temperature to charge, reducing average charge times for owners by 25%.
This combination of higher peak power with V3, dedicated vehicle power allocation across Supercharger sites, and On-Route Battery Warmup 
With Model 3 now shipping globally in high volumes and Model Y on the way, V3 Supercharging enables us to deliver the fastest production charging experience at an unprecedented scale compared to other electric vehicle manufacturers. By increasing the number of vehicles we’re able to charge at each Supercharger in a day, the investment we’re making in our network will go significantly further with every V3 station deployed. Paired with other savings, these efficiencies will translate to an increased pace of investment for Superchargers moving forward, with a continued focus on getting to 100% ownership coverage across all regions we operate. With thousands of new Superchargers coming online in 2019, the launch of V3, and other changes we’re making to improve throughput, the Supercharger network will be able to serve more than 2x more vehicles per day at the end of 2019 compared with today – easily keeping pace with our 2019 fleet growth.
Beginning today, we’re opening the first public beta site in the Bay Area, which will incrementally be made available to owners in Tesla’s Early Access Program. We’re launching V3 Supercharging for Model 3, our highest volume vehicle, and we’ll continue to expand access as we review and assess the results of millions of charging events. We will increase Model S and X charging speeds via software updates in the coming months. V3 Supercharging will roll out to the wider fleet in an over the air firmware update to all owners in Q2 as more V3 Superchargers come online. Our first non-beta V3 Supercharger site will break ground next month, with North American sites ramping in Q2 and Q3 before coming to Europe and Asia-Pacific in Q4.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s net worth is nearing $800 billion, and it’s no small part due to xAI
A newly confirmed $20 billion xAI funding round valued the business at $250 billion, adding an estimated $62 billion to Musk’s fortune.
Elon Musk moved within reach of an unprecedented $800 billion net worth after private investors sharply increased the valuation of xAI Holdings, his artificial intelligence and social media company.
A newly confirmed $20 billion funding round valued the business at $250 billion, adding an estimated $62 billion to Musk’s fortune and widening his lead as the world’s wealthiest individual.
xAI’s valuation jump
Forbes confirmed that xAI Holdings was valued at $250 billion following its $20 billion funding round. That’s more than double the $113 billion valuation Musk cited when he merged his AI startup xAI with social media platform X last year. Musk owned roughly 49% of the combined company, which Forbes estimated was worth about $122 billion after the deal closed.
xAI’s recent valuation increase pushed Musk’s total net worth to approximately $780 billion, as per Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List. The jump represented one of the single largest wealth gains ever recorded in a private funding round.
Interestingly enough, xAI’s funding round also boosted the AI startup’s other billionaire investors. Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud held an estimated 1.6% stake in xAI worth about $4 billion, so the recent funding round boosted his net worth to $19.4 billion. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison each owned roughly 0.8% stakes that are now valued at about $2.1 billion, increasing their net worths to $6 billion and $241 billion, respectively.
The backbone of Musk’s net worth
Despite xAI’s rapid rise, Musk’s net worth is still primarily anchored by SpaceX and Tesla. SpaceX represents Musk’s single most valuable asset, with his 42% stake in the private space company estimated at roughly $336 billion.
Tesla ranks second among Musk’s holdings, as he owns about 12% of the EV maker’s common stock, which is worth approximately $307 billion.
Over the past year, Musk crossed a series of historic milestones, becoming the first person ever worth $500 billion, $600 billion, and $700 billion. He also widened his lead over the world’s second-richest individual, Larry Page, by more than $500 billion.
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Tesla Cybercab sighting confirms one highly requested feature
The feature will likely allow the Cybercab to continue operating even in conditions when its cameras could be covered with dust, mud, or road grime.
A recent sighting of Tesla’s Cybercab prototype in Chicago appears to confirm a long-requested feature for the autonomous two-seater.
The feature will likely allow the Cybercab to continue operating even in conditions when its cameras could be covered with dust, mud, or road grime.
The Cybercab’s camera washer
The Cybercab prototype in question was sighted in Chicago, and its image was shared widely on social media. While the autonomous two-seater itself was visibly dirty, its rear camera area stood out as noticeably cleaner than the rest of the car. Traces of water were also visible on the trunk. This suggested that the Cybercab is equipped with a rear camera washer.
As noted by Model Y owner and industry watcher Sawyer Merritt, a rear camera washer is a feature many Tesla owners have requested for years, particularly in snowy or wet regions where camera obstruction can affect visibility and the performance of systems like Full Self-Driving (FSD).
While only the rear camera washer was clearly visible, the sighting raises the possibility that Tesla may equip the Cybercab’s other external cameras with similar cleaning systems. Given the vehicle’s fully autonomous design, redundant visibility safeguards would be a logical inclusion.
The Cybercab in Tesla’s autonomous world
The Cybercab is Tesla’s first purpose-built autonomous ride-hailing vehicle, and it is expected to enter production later this year. The vehicle was unveiled in October 2024 at the “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles, and it is expected to be a major growth driver for Tesla as it continues its transition toward an AI- and robotics-focused company. The Cybercab will not include a steering wheel or pedals and is intended to carry one or two passengers per trip, a decision Tesla says reflects real-world ride-hailing usage data.
The Cybercab is also expected to feature in-vehicle entertainment through its center touchscreen, wireless charging, and other rider-focused amenities. Musk has also hinted that the vehicle includes far more innovation than is immediately apparent, stating on X that “there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface.”
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Tesla seen as early winner as Canada reopens door to China-made EVs
Tesla had already prepared for Chinese exports to Canada in 2023 by equipping its Shanghai Gigafactory to produce a Canada-specific version of the Model Y.
Tesla seems poised to be an early beneficiary of Canada’s decision to reopen imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, following the removal of a 100% tariff that halted shipments last year.
Thanks to Giga Shanghai’s capability to produce Canadian-spec vehicles, it might only be a matter of time before Tesla is able to export vehicles to Canada from China once more.
Under the new U.S.–Canada trade agreement, Canada will allow up to 49,000 vehicles per year to be imported from China at a 6.1% tariff, with the quota potentially rising to 70,000 units within five years, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Half of the initial quota is reserved for vehicles priced under CAD 35,000, a threshold above current Tesla models, though the electric vehicle maker could still benefit from the rule change, as noted in a Reuters report.
Tesla had already prepared for Chinese exports to Canada in 2023 by equipping its Shanghai Gigafactory to produce a Canada-specific version of the Model Y. That year, Tesla began shipping vehicles from Shanghai to Canada, contributing to a sharp 460% year-over-year increase in China-built vehicle imports through Vancouver.
When Ottawa imposed a 100% tariff in 2024, however, Tesla halted those shipments and shifted Canadian supply to its U.S. and Berlin factories. With tariffs now reduced, Tesla could quickly resume China-to-Canada exports.
Beyond manufacturing flexibility, Tesla could also benefit from its established retail presence in Canada. The automaker operates 39 stores across Canada, while Chinese brands like BYD and Nio have yet to enter the Canadian market directly. Tesla’s relatively small lineup, which is comprised of four core models plus the Cybertruck, allows it to move faster on marketing and logistics than competitors with broader portfolios.
Elon Musk’s net worth is nearing $800 billion, and it’s no small part due to xAI
Tesla Cybercab sighting confirms one highly requested feature
