The Ride the Lightning podcast recently hosted Tesla’s VP of Engineering, Lars Moravy. He talked about various topics, including the upcoming Model S and Model X refresh. But the most interesting parts were about Tesla’s charging technology.
Moravy revisited Tesla’s robotic charger snake, a project that was once hyped but later faded. He also mentioned wireless charging briefly, without going into details.
Why the Charger Snake Was Scrapped
Charger prototype finding its way to Tesla Model S.
— Universal Curiosity (@UniverCurious) November 20, 2020
Credit: Tesla pic.twitter.com/uCuibh6HKd
Lars explained why Tesla’s robotic charger snake didn’t move forward. The project was developed internally but never gained much support, and engineers concluded it wasn’t necessary.
At Supercharger stations, most drivers step away from their cars to eat, drink, or take a break. Plugging in manually isn’t a problem for them. But, a robotic charger would be complex and hard to maintain, especially in harsh weather.
However, self-driving cars present a different challenge. As Tesla works toward full autonomy, vehicles will need to charge without human input. For example, a Robotaxi passenger wouldn’t want to get out and plug in the car.
Wireless Charging and the Next-Gen Superchargers
Wireless charging could solve this problem, and Tesla gave a preview of this technology during the We, Robot event. The Cybercab was shown charging wirelessly without a traditional port.
Tesla’s new autonomous Cybercab features wireless charging $TSLA pic.twitter.com/mDWdXwrZqg
— Equity Sesame (@EquitySesame) November 17, 2024
Compared to robotic systems, wireless charging is simpler. A charging pad doesn’t have moving parts and allows vehicles to charge on their own.
In the future, Supercharger stations might offer both wired and wireless options. This would let drivers charge their cars while doing other activities without leaving their vehicles.
Wireless charging could also be more cost-effective to install than a full Supercharger stall, which currently costs less than $40k per stall.
When asked if wireless charging requires new infrastructure, Lars said:
“Could be. But we’re making some smart plays about that with the new V4 Superchargers”
This suggests Tesla’s upcoming V4 Superchargers will support wireless charging. While not every stall will have it, adding a few wireless chargers at key locations could help launch Tesla’s Robotaxi network.
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References: Not A Tesla App
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