Tesla's v3 Superchargers can charge at more than 1000 miles per hour
The newly built Model Y 4680 battery packs are seeing an impressive and positive (pun intended) charging speed.
According to Twitter user The Kilowatts, they were able to charge their new Model Y from 0% to 97% in just 52 minutes.
The Kilowatts’s Ryan Levenson took delivery of an Austin, Texas-made dual-motor Model Y, which is built with Tesla’s highly anticipated 4680 battery pack.
Levenson rents out electric vehicles he owns on Turo and maintains them. Levenson shared on Twitter that he drove the new Model Y three miles past its 0% state of charge. He noted that there was no effect on the vehicle’s acceleration.
“0% -> 97% in 52 minutes for our MIT (made in Texas) Dual Motor Model Y,” Levenson writes on Twitter.
“Plugged in at 12:25 am with 0 miles of range remaining (actually drove 3 miles beyond 0 with seemingly no impact on acceleration). Unplugged at 1:17 am with 270 miles of range.”
0% -> 97% in 52 minutes for our MIT Dual Motor Model Y
Plugged in at 12:25 am with 0 miles of range remaining (actually drove 3 miles beyond 0 with seemingly no impact on acceleration) Unplugged at 1:17 am with 270 miles of range. ?? pic.twitter.com/q4Yef2uKKe
Levenson noticed that by plugging into a V3 supercharger, the vehicle almost immediately ramped up to the 250kW charging rate, which is much different than Tesla’s current battery packs that take time to ramp up to the 250kW rate.
“For anyone trying to analyze the charge curve here, it seems quick but what I find most interesting is the almost immediate jump to ~250kW unlike the ramp up to 250kW we’re used to and from there it slowly tapers down throughout the charge cycle.”
Tesla’s currently listing the Model Y dual motor configuration to have a total of 279 miles of EPA-rated range.
Being able to drive past 0% state of charge is interesting. Tesla purposely builds in a little buffer to err on the side of caution when estimating the remaining range.
Tesla does software lock the range on its vehicles to prevent them from losing all of their charge and damaging the battery.
In order to meet manufacturing efficiencies, Tesla has previously shipped vehicles with larger batteries and software-locked them if an owner bought a model with a shorter range.
Although the owner can only access the portion of the battery that they paid for, they actually receive a couple of hidden benefits.
The car can be charged to "100%" every day without any ill effects since the battery itself is not charged to 100%, only the portion the owner paid for.
Another advantage of such models is that the owner can buy and unlock the additional range at a later date if they choose to.
In 2019, during Hurricane Dorian in Florida, Tesla remotely extended the ranges on such vehicles so they could escape Dorian’s path.
They also provided Tesla drivers with free supercharger access and force-charged the Powerwall batteries to full power so they would be ready in case of a severe power outage.
Tesla’s battery day event back in September 2020 unveiled some pretty impressive technologies coming, but Tesla has yet to share in-depth data on what we can expect in real-world scenarios.
Tesla's Battery Day
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It has been a long wait for FSD for European customers, many of whom paid for the feature years ago on now legacy hardware. While the FSD transfer program has come and gone multiple times, there’s something to be said about having it available in North America, where it can be used, and in Europe or other countries, where it still just remains the same as Enhanced Autopilot (differences between Autopilot, EAP, and FSD).
FSD Transfer is a nice goodwill gesture from Tesla that in theory doesn’t cost them anything. Instead, it keeps customers, especially those who have been waiting for years, loyal and happy. It also incentivizes them to upgrade to a newer Tesla with HW4, where FSD will hopefully be achieved.
In a reply to a post on X, Elon agreed with the suggestion that offering FSD transfers in Europe would be a fair solution for those who have already purchased FSD but can’t use its capabilities.
FSD Transfer directly addresses a growing concern for many long-term European Tesla owners. Thousands of customers purchased the full package, often many years ago, with the expectation that FSD would eventually be capable and approved for use. However, the reality is that FSD, even as an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), continues to be pushed back in Europe.
Without the transfer program, it's a difficult choice: either throw away your original investment in FSD and pay for the package a second time (FSD price history), or subscribe to it in the future.
Offering FSD transfers is a good way for Tesla to meet them halfway. It's a difficult situation, and one that’s being hindered by processes beyond the control of both the customer and Tesla. However, a transfer helps both parties. Tesla sells another vehicle, and the customer gets to keep FSD.
When Will it Be Available?
Based on how FSD transfers have worked in the past following Elon’s announcements, this feature is likely to become available for a limited time period in the coming days or weeks. If it happens, we should expect an announcement from Tesla Europe on X and emails being sent out to Tesla customers.
Once the program is in place, all you need to do is complete your vehicle purchase and then inform your Tesla sales advisor that you’d like to transfer FSD. You don’t even have to sell or trade in your old Tesla; FSD will simply be removed from it as a feature.
Hopefully, Tesla enables FSD Transfers for everyone, regardless of region. It should be an ongoing offer until at least FSD is approved in the given country or region.
The introductory price for Tesla’s Robotaxi Network has finally been updated. In a post on X, Elon Musk confirmed that the new fare would be rolling out to complement the new Robotaxi geofence expansion.
This change marks the first adjustment to Tesla’s fares since the initial $4.20 launch price 23 days ago. While the price increase may seem significant in terms of percentages, when compared to other options in the ride-hailing area, it is still drastically cheaper.
But the price is now a princely $6.90, as foretold in the prophecy 😂
Robotaxi currently operates on a simple, flat-rate model. The new $6.90 fare gets you a ride to anywhere within the recently expanded geofence.
So far, this is the opposite approach compared to other services, such as Waymo or traditional ride-sharing options like Uber and Lyft. All these services use dynamic pricing based on distance, time of day, and demand. A comparable trip on any one of these services could cost anywhere from $30 to $65, and potentially even higher during peak hours.
That doesn’t even include the tip fees for human drivers either - another win for Robotaxi (can you tip a Robotaxi?).
Even with the adjustment, the flat $6.90 fare remains less than half the price of a typical competing ride, making Robotaxi the most affordable point-to-point transportation option in Austin, aside from mass transit, for now.
A “Maturing” Service
The price change, moving from one meme-worthy number to another, is a sign that Robotaxi is finally graduating from its initial pilot phase. Following the first major expansion of the service area, this adjustment is a logical next step towards finding a more sustainable flat price.
While the new fare is a 65% increase over the old fare, the key takeaway is that it is still far cheaper than other options, and still just as meme-worthy. Tesla is aiming to have its early access riders complete as many rides as possible during these early months, and this pricing is still very reflective of that.