Connect with us

News

Tesla shares Supercharger V3 details, critiques Porsche’s 350 kW chargers

Published

7 years ago

on

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel revealed the first details of the company’s upcoming Supercharger V3 network during the company’s recently conducted first-quarter earnings call. The discussion about the next-generation charging stations came as a response to a question addressing Porsche’s 350 kW IONITY network, which is set to outgun Tesla’s 120 kW Superchargers when it gets fully rolled out.

According to Musk, Tesla will introduce an improved version of its Superchargers, though they would not be along the same specs as Porsche’s 350 kW stations.  

“We’re definitely going to be improving our Supercharger’s technology. The thing about a 350 kW charger is that it doesn’t actually make a ton of sense, unless you got a monster battery pack or have like a crazy high C rating… We think 350 kW for a single car; you’re gonna frag the battery pack if you do that. You cannot charge a high-energy battery pack at that rate, unless it’s a very high kW battery pack. So, (for us), something along the couple of hundred, 200-250 kW, maybe.”

Musk’s statements were backed up with an explanation from Tesla CTO JB Straubel, who noted that the levels of power for Supercharger V3 involve a considerable amount of balancing. Straubel further stated that Tesla could make a 300-400 kW Supercharger, but such a system would not be a useful tradeoff for the company’s consumer base.

“That’s definitely sort of the power level that we’ve discussed and explored. Some of it also comes down to an optimization around utility versus cost, and tradeoffs in the car itself. There is a tradeoff, fundamentally, between charge speed and essentially range, and cost of the battery. We look at that pretty carefully. We understand the tradeoff. We could design cells and a pack that could charge at, you know, faster than 300-400 kW, but it’s not a very useful tradeoff to the customer.”

Advertisement

Elon Musk also provided a real-world explanation that differentiates Tesla’s Supercharger V3 to Porsche’s 350 kW IONITY network.

“Energy is range, and power is your peak acceleration, the rate in which you consume energy. It’s more important to have long range than it is to have a super fast charge time. You can sort of think about this in the devices that you use. Would you rather have a cellphone that charges in 5 minutes or 10 minutes, but only lasted 2 hours. Or, if you’d like a cellphone that can last two days, and maybe takes an hour to charge?”

Musk also discussed the idea of opening the Supercharger network to other electric car makers. According to the CEO, the Superchargers are not a “walled garden,” and that Tesla would be happy to partner with other players in the EV industry. So far, however, Musk noted that no automaker had approached Tesla about a possible Supercharger partnership.

“We’ve always said that this is not intended to be a walled garden, and we’re happy to support other automakers and let them use our Supercharger stations. They would just need to pay, you know, share the costs proportionate to their vehicle usage, and they would need to be able to accept our charge rate or at least our connector, at least have an adapter to our connector. This is something that we are very open to, but so far, none of the other car makers have wanted to do this. It’s not because of opposition from us. This is not a walled garden.”

As we noted in a previous report, a key difference between Tesla’s Supercharger and Porsche’s IONITY network lies in the rates the companies demand for each service. Tesla has maintained that the Superchargers are not being built for profit, while Porsche deputy chairman of the executive board Lutz Meschke noted that using the IONITY network would roughly cost the same as filling up an ICE vehicle with gasoline.

Advertisement
Related Topics:

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla creates clever solution to simplify and improve its Service

Raj Jegannathan, a Vice President of IT/AI-Infra, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, revealed that Tesla has started a small pilot program at a few service locations to combat this issue.

Published

11 hours ago

on

August 7, 2025

By

tesla service
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has created a clever solution to simplify and improve its Service. Tesla performs most of the services that are needed on its vehicles at its company-owned Service Centers.

However, service has been a weak point of the company, as some regions have fewer Service Centers than others. This can cause long wait times for Tesla owners in some parts of the country.

There are also instances where customers do not agree with what Tesla is saying about their vehicle. In fact, one instance that revealed this new change Tesla is making to its Service was precisely that.

One owner posted on X that his vehicle’s battery seal had failed after a recall was issued. Tesla insurance and Tesla Service both did not assist, and it took CEO Elon Musk stepping in to get the issue resolved:

Another owner suggested there should be a more streamlined communications process between the customer and the Service Center, a solution that has been missing.

Raj Jegannathan, a Vice President of IT/AI-Infra, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations, revealed that Tesla has started a small pilot program at a few service locations to combat this issue.

Elon Musk wants Tesla Service to fix two-thirds of cars in the same day

Jegannathan said that Tesla has started to share local and regional leader contact information so customers have the ability to reach out when they have complaints or disagree with warranty claims, changes in estimates, or initial diagnostics.

Advertisement

It is available in a handful of locations already, and Jegannathan said that once abuse guardrails are built, this will expand to all locations:

This would be a major improvement in the Service portion of Tesla’s business. There are common disagreements between Service and customers, specifically when Service’s suggestions don’t align with the customer’s beliefs.

When it comes to things like a warranty claim, these issues are not really up for interpretation. Instead, the repairs should be made. If there is a misunderstanding on Service’s side, a simple message from the customer could have resolved the issue. That’s basically what happened here.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla gets its best analysis from Morgan Stanley as ‘it’s all about to change’

He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

Published

12 hours ago

on

August 7, 2025

By

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla has gotten perhaps its best analysis from Morgan Stanley in quite some time, as the Wall Street firm claims that “it’s all about to change.”

That phrase could be used for both the company’s status and the world in general.

Analyst Adam Jonas said in a new note on Thursday to investors that Tesla could be one of the major winners in terms of the global transition from what it is now to what it will be.

He describes the global shift that will occur over the next few years:

“Have you interacted with a robot today? Have you even seen a robot today? No? Well, take a mental picture because it’s all about to change. When we meet someone who has never been in a Waymo or a Tesla Cybercab (which is most people), we frequently see a wince and a response such as ‘I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable getting in a car without a driver.’ We imagine going back in time to 1903 and asking people if they’d feel comfortable in an airplane.’”

Advertisement

The same technological revolutions that have occurred over the past 150 years will continue to occur again and again. We are on the verge of another, Jonas believes, as companies like Tesla are working on artificial intelligence tech, which includes changing the way we look at things like transportation and labor.

Jonas includes an interesting tidbit in his note about how humanoid robots could change wages, and how it could work into the advantage of Tesla, especially as it is developing its own Optimus robot:

“We estimate 1 humanoid robot at $5/hour can do the work of 2 humans at $25/hour, generating an NPV of approximately $200k/humanoid. 1 robot shaped car can potentially drive down cost/mile of a ride share vehicle to <$0.20 mile (1/10th human-driven ride-share).”

Jonas sees Tesla as a key player in how AI will impact things like manufacturing and various automotive industries, and he believes there is long-term potential for AI, robomobility, and even autonomous eVTOL platforms.

Tesla stock: Morgan Stanley says eVTOL is calling Elon Musk for new chapter

Advertisement

He maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating and the $410 price target Morgan Stanley had on the stock.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla expands Robotaxi program in Austin to new riders

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

Published

12 hours ago

on

August 7, 2025

By

Credit: @TerrapinTerpene/X

Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, as several people have received invitations to participate and take rides.

Tesla first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22. It invited a handful of people to participate in the first-ever public rides. We were lucky enough to get an invitation, and our permissions have been expanded in the Bay Area pilot program as well.

The group was small and consisted of big names in the Tesla community. It expanded and is continuing to offer these exclusive invitations to notable members of the Tesla community.

There have been fewer than five subsequent invitations after the first group’s were sent in late June:

Tesla has been expanding both the rider group and the geofence in Austin slowly, making sure to prioritize safety and avoid any major events with the early rollout.

Advertisement

Tesla’s new Robotaxi geofence shape is an FU by Elon Musk to the competition

“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.

Eventually, the Robotaxi platform will not require an invite, and it will operate without geofences. Musk believes Tesla can get there within three or six months, and plans to have at least half of the U.S. population with access to a Robotaxi by the end of the year:

Advertisement

“I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we will technically be able to do it. Assuming we have regulatory approvals, it’s probably addressing half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year.”

Tesla plans to have regulatory approval in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida sooner than in other states.

Continue Reading

Trending