Tesla has confirmed that its upcoming wireless charging intended for the Robotaxi is “well above 90%” efficient. While wireless charging for smartphones tends to be about 70-75% efficient in general, a lot of the inefficiency comes from heat and alignment issues.
Tesla appears to have tackled both of these key problems to make wireless charging efficient enough for electric vehicles. Let’s take a look at how, but before we do that, let’s take a look at SAE J2954, the wireless EV charging standard from nearly half a decade ago.
SAE J2954
SAE’s wireless charging standard was created in October 2020. Engineers from SAE and car manufacturers collaborated to build a standard that would work across all EVs. In the end, they figured out a grid-to-battery efficiency of up to 94%. The NACS connector itself is only slightly more efficient—98.55% or so, depending on the temperature of the connector, the cable, the battery pack, and the transformer. That sets a benchmark for what Tesla aims to meet with its wireless charging standard.
What were their key challenges for efficiency? Heat and alignment.
Autopark for Wireless Chargers
Tesla’s Autopark will receive special support for its wireless chargers. Autopark will automatically locate the wireless charging pad and park the vehicle in the best spot for the charging session to begin. As long as the vehicle can accurately place itself over the wireless charger, this solves one of the key issues with wireless charging. It’s not clear whether Tesla is building in any other technology to help the charger find its optimal position. In theory, magnets, like the newer Qi2 standard or Apple’s MagSafe, can help the charger lock in millimeter-perfect positioning.
Having the vehicle locate and park itself over the charger will be far easier than humans trying to accomplish the same feat without software assistance.
Heat Management
A major problem with cell phones and wireless charging is that most do not have active heat dissipation. Instead, they dissipate heat passively into the atmosphere around them. This is especially true due to the small surface area of a cell phone.
In a car, you can transfer heat efficiently to outside the vehicle or into the vehicle’s cabin if it needs heat - the heat pumps on a Tesla are 200-300% efficient at most temperatures. Conversely, on cell phones, battery heat must be limited due to the critical and heat-sensitive components (screen, chips, cameras, sensors) that are all tightly packed into the phone’s battery.
Due to Tesla’s BMS (battery management system), Tesla can keep the vehicle’s batteries and surrounding components in a much more ideal range than cell phones. The system will not only cool down batteries, but also warm them up to produce efficiency and faster charging.
The final trick under the charge mat is beam steering. In a recent patent, Tesla explained that they intend to steer the beam of wireless energy by altering the induced current across the wireless charging pad’s coils. This will allow them to solve both the alignment and heat issues.
The alignment's precision can be achieved by steering the beam into the optimal position, while it dynamically adjusts between 'cool zones' on the receiving vehicle to prevent overheating—ensuring a steady and efficient rate of charging.
Tesla has thought out the wireless charging problem pretty deeply ever since they bought out Wiferion, and this achievement has been years in the making. We’re hoping they’ll eventually bring wireless charging compatibility to the rest of the lineup. The Cybertruck itself already has the connector prongs to be retrofitted with a wireless charging adapter, and with the Model Y Juniper Refresh around the corner, what better way to prove wireless EV charging works than to include it in the world’s best-selling car?
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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.
— 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.
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
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.
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.
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