Tesla’s recent announcement of the V3 supercharger has many owners giddy in anticipation of 250 kW fast-charges, but perhaps we should already be celebrating. A recent reddit post shows the 2019.7.11 firmware delivering a 147 kW charge-rate on a Californian Model 3.
Tesla V2 superchargers, previously limited to ~120 kW peak output, will have their maximums raised for eligible models worldwide over the coming weeks. Evidently, some US owners are already enjoying the benefits of super-fast charging. The above post shows a charge-rate of 627 miles (1009 km) per hour.
Rates this high are almost unheard of, and the news that they might be coming to existing infrastructure — even before the 250 kW V3s go online — is great for Tesla owners worldwide. V2 superchargers are currently installed at 26 locations nationwide, with plans to significantly increase that number this year.
That’s not all we can expect with the new software. Tesla have also revealed their on-route battery warmup technology will be arriving soon; warming batteries to ideal temperature when navigating to a supercharger for the best possible charge-rate & efficiency.
V3 superchargers, scheduled to begin appearing late this year, will have a total cabinet power of 1 MW. This will allow them to dedicate 250 kW of charge power to four separate vehicles, eliminating the need to share unit power.
As with all superchargers, V2 output will be metered as state of charge rises to protect battery life. u/privaterbok reported their Model 3 (LR rwd) received 145 kW at 15% charge, 147 kW at 50% and 117 kW at 60%.
Tesla have not revealed exactly when Australian owners can expect to see the improved rates. Let us know if you’ve noticed an improvement in V2 charge-rates for your Tesla, and be sure to read through our other pieces on the latest offerings from Tesla and other EV automakers.