Tesla Files Patents for Wireless Charging the Robotaxi

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Tesla has filed four patents for wireless charging. Previously, Tesla acquired the experience and skills of Wiferion’s engineering team in an acquisition in June 2023. Tesla quickly sold off the company but kept the company’s engineers. This was an acqui-hire, where large companies rapidly onboard top talent by purchasing a company for human capital, rather than products, services, or intellectual products.

Following the Wiferion acquisition, Tesla showed off a wireless charging mat several times and even confirmed they are working on wireless inductive home charging. We expected this to arrive with the Cybertruck, but now we hope to see more details at the upcoming Robotaxi reveal event in October, at the Warner Bro.’s studio in Hollywood.

Wireless Charging Patents

First Patent

The first of the four patents looks at temperature sensors and applications for wireless charging. Tesla intends to track the temperatures across both the wireless charging pad, as well as the inductive charging coils in the vehicle. The third patent details how they’re planning to use this in an innovative way.

WIPO

Second Patent

The second patent is a shorting switch, which is designed to prevent or reduce leakage of energy to ground sources near the wireless charging mat. This shorting switch is used to create a short with the receiving side of the inductive charging, essentially making energy transfer faster and more efficient – while also reducing the amount of energy that is leaked out elsewhere. We’ll leave this one for the electrical engineers to explain in our forums.

Third Patent

The third patent is actually the wireless charging circuit itself, and how to manufacture it. This one is straightforward and explains how Tesla intends to design and build the prototype inductive wireless charging mats. Beyond the basic design, this document also details how Tesla intends to lay out the inductive charging coils and how it expects the entire assembly to function – which includes a small cable that runs to a wall-mounted energy source.

Fourth Patent

The final patent is for intelligently estimating and adapting to variations in wireless charging layouts and systems. This one is probably the most interesting of the four patents, as it involves adjusting the coils in the mat to dynamically account for the positioning of the vehicle, as well as responding to the information from the first patent – the temperature sensors.

Essentially, by varying the coil induction across the mat, Tesla intends to dynamically aim the wireless charger at different parts of the inductive coils in the vehicle, thereby reducing heat. This patent will also help Tesla to determine the adequate charge speed and other key information they may need to relay to the vehicle, or back to fleet management software.

Cybertruck Inductive Charging

While the Cybertruck never actually arrived with inductive charging, it was noted in the Service Manual to have 2 Inductive Charging Headers, so it is ready to be upgraded to have Inductive Charging support. We expect that Tesla will release this as a purchasable upgrade for the Cybertruck sometime in the future – likely as a package with the Inductive Charging Mat.

Robotaxi Inductive Charging

The Robotaxi will likely be the first of Tesla’s vehicles to feature inductive charging – which. makes sense given its autonomous nature. Plugging in a NACS charger will likely be fairly difficult to automate, and the 5-10% efficiency loss of wireless charging isn’t a huge deal. It’s possible Tesla chose this route due to cost, as having an automated NACS cable like the “snake” prototype we saw years ago could be costly.

Having a simple parking stall with an inductive mat on it, alongside all the tech and supplies needed to automatically clean and sanitize the Robotaxi makes far more sense. This means that a Robotaxi will be able to roll in, charge and clean itself, and then roll out to go pick up more customers. Tesla is planning a super-efficient system here that requires minimal intervention from real humans.

Essentially, by effectively managing the Robotaxi fleet, Tesla can offset the increased time that wireless charging would take, and also reduce the amount of waste energy by charging when energy is cheapest. While this could prevent Tesla from taking advantage of the sheer battery mass of a Robotaxi fleet – by selling power when it’s expensive and travel demand is low – this doesn’t make it impossible.

Smartphone manufacturers have demonstrated reverse wireless charging with the inductive charging coils already present in modern smartphones. We could see Tesla low-power bi-directional charging in the future too.

We’re looking forward to seeing Tesla unveil this at the upcoming Robotaxi event. It’ll be something special, for sure.

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Tesla FSD in Europe: June Update

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The road to bringing FSD to Europe has been a long and complex one and filled with regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles. Elon Musk, as well as other members of Tesla’s AI team, have previously voiced their grievances with the regulatory approval process on X.

However, it appears that there is finally some progress in getting things moving with recent changes to upcoming autonomy regulations, but the process still seems slow.

Waiting on the Dutch

Elon commented on X recently, stating that Tesla is waiting for approval from Dutch authorities and then the EU to start rolling out FSD in Europe. Tesla is focusing on acquiring approvals from the Dutch transportation authority, which will provide them with the platform they need to gain broader acceptance in Europe. Outside of the Netherlands, Tesla is also conducting testing in Norway, which provides a couple of avenues for them to obtain national-level approval.

The frustration has been ongoing, with multiple committee meetings bringing up autonomy regulation but always pulling back at the last second before approving anything. The last meeting on Regulation 157, which governs Automated Lane Keeping Systems, concluded with authorities from the UK and Spain requesting additional time to analyze the data before reaching a conclusion.

Tesla, as well as Elon, have motioned several times for owners to reach out to their elected representatives to move the process forward, as it seems that Tesla’s own efforts are being stymied. 

This can seem odd, especially since Tesla has previously demoed FSD working exceptionally smoothly on European roads - and just did it again in Rome when they shared the video below on X.

FSD Supervised testing in Rome, Italy

Pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/TXh3uQIfrx

— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) June 12, 2025

DCAS Phase 3

While the approval process has been slow, Kees Roelandschap pointed out that there may be a different regulatory step that could allow FSD to gain a foothold in Europe.

According to Kees, the European Commission is now taking a new approach to approving ADAS systems under the new DCAS Phase 3 regulations. The Commission is now seeking data from systems currently operational in the United States that can perform System-Initiated Maneuvers and don’t require hands-on intervention for every request.

This is key because those are two of the core functionalities that make FSD so usable, and it also means that there may not be a need to wait years for proper regulations to be written from scratch. Now, the Commission will be looking at real-world data based on existing, deployed technology, which could speed up the process immensely.

What This Means

This new, data-driven regulatory approach could be the path for Tesla to reach its previous target of September for European FSD. While the cogs of bureaucracy are ever slow, sometimes all it takes is a little data to have them turn a bit faster in this case.

Alongside specific countries granting approval for limited field testing with employees, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for FSD in Europe, and hopes are that a release will occur by the end of 2025. With Europe now looking to North America for how FSD is performing, Tesla’s Robotaxi results could also play a role.

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Tesla Launches 'TeslaVision' Contest With Big Prizes — See Last Year’s Winner [VIDEO]

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Tesla’s marketing has always been relatively unconventional, relying on word-of-mouth rather than traditional advertising. The passion of the owner’s community is always massive, but it is especially high now with the launch of the Robotaxi network just around the corner.

Tesla is now tapping into that spring of fan creativity and announced the TeslaVision video contest, with some seriously impressive prizes up for grabs.

Announcing the TeslaVision fan video showcase

Tesla owners & supporters have always been able to see our products & mission for what they truly are.

Your word of mouth has made Tesla what it is today.

The OGs will remember that in 2017, we held our first video contest. 8 years… pic.twitter.com/6pPpkqmqOH

— Tesla (@Tesla) June 10, 2025

The Contest

The core of the contest is simple. Create a video that shows how your Tesla gives you more in life. Tesla is looking for submissions that highlight themes of freedom, safety, fun, and convenience.

Prizes

The prizes definitely make this contest worth entering if you’re good with a camera and have some basic video editing abilities.

For North America, the prizes include a brand new Model Y AWD Long Range, alongside an all-expenses-paid trip to Austin for a tour of Giga Texas. The grand prize winner will also be able to custom order their Model Y, allowing them to select their preferred wheels and color.

The two runners-up won’t get a Model Y, but they’ll also enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Giga Texas for a tour of the factory.

The travel and tour include lodging in Austin for 2 nights, as well as economy-class round-trip tickets from anywhere in North America. Tesla will also provide a vehicle for use during the trip.

Hopefully, these winners will also have the opportunity to experience the Robotaxi network while they’re in Austin, as it’s expected to be opened to the public later this month.

Project Loveday

For long-time followers of Tesla, this contest may feel familiar. The contest is a direct throwback to the 2017 Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a letter to Tesla from a 10-year-old aspiring marketer. That contest was won by MKBHD, with his submission below:

How to Enter

If you’re ready to start filming, here are the key pieces of information you’ll need to know:

• Video must be 90 seconds or less

• Video must be uploaded to YouTube with a public URL

• Make a post on X and Instagram tagging “@Tesla” and include the words “TeslaVision contest” in the post.

• Provide links to both social media posts in your submission to Tesla’s form

• Provide your personal details in the form

• You have until July 17th, 2025, or until Tesla receives 10,000 entries, whichever comes first.

You can find the official submission form and all region-specific details on Tesla's website.

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