Tesla is no longer including the mobile connector with new vehicles
In a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the company will no longer include the Gen 2 mobile connector bundle with new car orders and will instead sell it separately for $200. The mobile connector package includes an adaptor that allows drivers to charge their vehicles using a conventional 110v or 220v household outlet.
According to Musk, the move was triggered by customer input. He explained his choice on Twitter to sell the package individually: “Usage statistics were super low, so seemed wasteful. On the (minor) plus side, we will be including more plug adaptors with the mobile connector kit.”
Musk provided another update hours later in a response to Tesla owner @WholeMarsBlog, stating that “based on user feedback,” Tesla will lower the price of the mobile connector to $200, from the previous $275. He also stated that Tesla will "make it easy" to order the mobile connector when purchasing a car, and that owners should install a wall charger "long before" their car arrives.
The Gen 2 mobile connector package, which includes a 20-foot cable, a 110V adapter, and a storage bag, is still available on Tesla's website, but it’s impossible to get your hands on one right now; the mobile connector, like the Gen 1 connector, is presently out of stock. This fact has made some wonder whether it was a supply chain shortage that prompted this decision.
Tesla's mobile connector
Over time, the charging kit that came with it evolved. Tesla used to supply a charging cable that included both a NEMA 14-50 (Level 2) connector and a normal outlet connector (Level 1). Later, the manufacturer opted to remove the NEMA 14-50 connector from the bundle, leaving only the NEMA 5-15 adaptor for regular outlets. The Level 2 connector could be purchased separately.
The reaction to this current decision has been divided. Even though most Tesla owners may charge their cars from a wall charger at home or at a charging station, many also use the vehicle's mobile connector to charge at home.
Having the Gen 2 bundle in the vehicle can also make drivers feel more comfortable when adventuring far from their homes.
Since the adapter allows Tesla owners to connect their car to a regular outlet, it can prove very useful at campsites or when traveling in an area without charging facilities, despite it charging at a remarkably slower rate - offering around two to three miles of range after an hour of charging.
For those owners waiting for delivery of their vehicle and wondering whether the mobile connector will be included, we're hearing that it depends on your delivery date.
If you ordered your Tesla after April 17th, then your vehicle will not include the mobile connector at delivery.
As long as you ordered your Tesla on or before April 17th then it looks like you will receive the mobile connector. It shouldn't matter when your delivery date is scheduled for, as Tesla is basing it on your order date.
This move has been compared by some to Apple’s controversial decision in 2020 to stop including chargers with its new iPhones, a move that was quickly followed by the likes of Samsung and Google. Only time will tell if other EV makers will follow Tesla in this choice.
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In just 8 months, Tesla has gone from breaking ground to delivering electrons at its most ambitious Supercharger project to date, just in time to be ready for the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend. Project Oasis, the world’s largest Supercharger site, is now partially open to customers for its first phase in Lost Hills, California.
What makes this remarkable is the speed of execution. In just eight months, Tesla has constructed a site that will eventually feature 168 stalls (84 stalls are now open), supported by 11 MW of solar power and 10 Megapacks of battery storage. That construction speed is pretty impressive, but what is even more impressive is how this new station operates and what it means for future Supercharging infrastructure.
Self-Sufficient Energy Oasis
Not a Tesla App
The first 84 stalls at Lost Hills are now open, and according to the Tesla Charging team, they are currently powered solely by the sun and operate off-grid.
This makes it more than just a new Supercharger site. It serves as a proof of concept for a new type of Supercharger. Unlike nearly every other charging site in the world, which draws power from local utilities, this station generates its own clean electricity from its massive solar array and stores it in its array of on-site Megapacks.
Self-sufficient charging stations are something completely different than what we see today. They are highly resilient since they’re not reliant on the grid. That means that even if there is a local power outage, brownout, or blackout, one can always come to Lost Hills to Supercharge.
If you’ve got a Cybertruck, you could take advantage of the Cybertruck’s Powershare feature and charge up at Lost Hills to help keep your home powered during a blackout, utilizing the Cybertruck as a portable battery charger. Now that’s true independence and self-reliance.
The Future of Charging
Solar-powered Superchargers help avoid massive new loads on already stressed electrical grids, especially during peak afternoon and evening hours, when demand is the highest.
This is Tesla’s vision for the future of charging: a clean, fully closed-loop ecosystem that sustains itself. The sun’s energy is captured, stored, and delivered directly to vehicles on site at any time of day without relying on the electrical grid or fossil fuels.
Largest Supercharger in the World
This opening of 84 stalls is just the first phase of the project. Tesla says that the remaining stalls, as well as a new on-site lounge, are coming later this year. Once complete, the 168-stall site will be the largest Supercharger site in the world.
While the speed of building such a massive project in just eight months is a testament to Tesla’s execution, the true innovation is actually that self-sustainability. Let’s hope we see even more large, self-sufficient Supercharger sites across the world in the near future.
Elon Musk is once again seeking to expand Tesla’s vertical integration in the energy sector, this time focusing squarely on solar power. Following discussions on X that highlighted the massive gap in solar deployments between the US and China, Elon is now discussing the need for a Tesla Solar Gigafactory in the United States.
This potential move is driven by a specific catalyst: the exponential growth of AI is creating an insatiable demand for electricity. For Tesla and xAI, two of Elon’s companies betting their future on AI, building the power generation required is a strategic necessity.
A new factory wouldn’t just be about making panels; it would be about manufacturing the final missing piece in Tesla’s vertically integrated energy ecosystem.
Maybe there should be a solar Gigafactory in America
The context for this renewed focus is pretty stark. In May, China reportedly added a staggering 93 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity. In contrast, the United States installed approximately 14 GW over the entire first quarter, roughly 20 times less than China.
The primary driver of this demand is the revolution in AI. Training ever-larger and smarter AI models involves operating vast data centers, which consume staggering amounts of power. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have turned to small-scale nuclear reactors, with Microsoft petitioning to reopen the infamous Three Mile Island for its AI operations.
For Elon’s companies, whose future products like FSD, Optimus, and Grok are built on a foundation of real-world AI, securing a massive and sustainable energy supply isn’t a side quest. It is part of the main mission, especially in conjunction with grid-scale storage, such as Megapacks and Powerwalls. You can’t power a world of autonomous robots without a world of abundant, clean energy.
The Tesla Ecosystem
A US solar gigafactory would be the final, logical step in completing Tesla’s energy hardware ecosystem. While Tesla already manufactures some solar panels and the Tesla solar roof, the scale is too minuscule to matter.
By mass-producing its own panels, while also increasing Solar Roof production, Tesla would become a true one-stop shop for all things green energy. This would allow the company to supply its own large-scale projects, like the massive solar array for Project Oasis - the world’s largest Supercharger site.
It would also enable more complete residential packages, like the Giga-Small Haus concept home, combining Tesla-made panels and roofs with a Powerwall 3. This level of vertical integration would give Tesla complete control over the technology, cost, and supply of every major component in its energy ecosystem, from generation to storage to mobility.
Building a new Solar Gigafactory is about much more than just simply producing solar panels. It’s a requirement to power Tesla’s future products and make solar panels accessible to everyone.