Tesla to add WiFi to Superchargers

October 15, 2021

By Nuno Cristovao

One advantage Tesla has over its competition is its Supercharger network. No one else comes even close to having such a vast charging network. That's not even taking other considerations into account such as the speed of chargers.

Tesla to add WiFi to their Superchargers

Tesla's v3 chargers can charge at rates of to 1,000 miles per hour according to Tesla. It really starts rivaling the speed of gas stations. Of course, you may not always see those speeds, since there are various factors to consider. You'll need to have a battery that's at least 50% depleted. Usually having a battery around the 30% mark is what will result in the fastest charging speeds.

The car will also need to have a warm battery in order to achieve such a high rate of charging. Your car will do automatically warm up the battery as long as you have a Supercharger destination set in your GPS. And of course, the Supercharger can't be crowded or that could affect the amount of power available to each vehicle as well.

The other big advantage that I feel is often overlooked is the simplicity of the whole thing. When you arrive at a Supercharger, you know what to expect, you're not dealing with different charging networks or figuring out how to pay. You literally just plug it in. It couldn't be simpler.

Adding WiFi

Now, Tesla is going to add another advantage to it's already great charging network. Elon tweeted that Tesla will be adding WiFi networks to all of their Superchargers.

This will be especially useful for those of us without Tesla's Premium Connectivity package. Connecting to Tesla's WiFi network will allow you to stream video services like Netflix and others. It will also give you the ability to use the web browser, Caraoke and the many features that are only available with Premium Connectivity.

Even for owners with Premium Connectivity, the WiFi access will be nice if you have other devices in the car that are WiFi only, such as a gaming device, laptop or an iPad.

They will
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2021

Why This is a Win for Tesla

Adding WiFi to Superchargers actually makes a lot of sense for Tesla. The amount of data Tesla vehicles use is probably fairly small, with the exception of video streaming.

Considering that streaming YouTube or Netflix is likely one of the more popular entertainment options if you're waiting in the car while charging, this could lead to large amounts of data usage.

If Tesla added WiFi to Superchargers, they'll likely greatly reduce the amount of data that is being consumed through the car's cellular network.

In the US, Tesla has a partnership with AT&T. Since the very first Model S in 2012, all Teslas have used AT&T's network. We don't know the exact details of Tesla's partnership with AT&T, but Tesla is likely paying AT&T based on the amount of data used. After all, there's a reason why Tesla forces software updates to be downloaded over WiFi.

This move is likely to improve the customer experience at Superchargers while also saving Tesla some money.

Software Updates

Tesla is selling almost a million vehicles a year. Many of these are now being sold to owners who may not be able to get their car close enough to their homes in order to connect to WiFi and download the latest updates.

By adding WiFi to Superchargers, Tesla will now give owners a reliable and easy way to download software updates, regardless of their connection at home.

How to Connect to Tesla WiFi

We discussed earlier how easy it is to use a Supercharger. There's no need to authenticate, process payments or anything. It's all seamless. Expect Tesla to provide a similar experience when connecting to their WiFi network. You may not have to do anything. Just driving your car within range of Tesla's WiFi network will be enough to get it to automatically connect.

Tesla Supercharger Network Sees Strong Growth in Q1 2025 With 2,200 New Stalls

June 5, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla Supercharger network continues to expand, despite issues with the NJ Turnpike that will force several Supercharger sites to shut down, and even Tesla laying off a huge portion of the Supercharger team in 2024.

Tesla recently shared statistics on its Supercharger expansion in the first quarter of 2025. The numbers highlight the work that Tesla’s teams are doing to expand the network and keep up with the growing demand from Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles.

Q1 2025 By the Numbers

Here’s how the Tesla Supercharger network performed in the first quarter of 2025.

Tesla brought online approximately 2,200 new Supercharger stalls worldwide, representing a 17% year-over-year growth for the quarter. That’s impressive growth, especially since Tesla is simultaneously working to transition older V2 stalls to V4 stalls.

Overall, Tesla delivered 1.4 TWh (that’s terawatt-hours) of energy to vehicles, representing a 26% year-over-year growth. More people than ever are using the Supercharger network - and with 42 million charging sessions in Q1 2025 (27% annual growth), Tesla is the de-facto standard for EV charging — even if the NJ Turnpike authorities don’t want to believe it.

That 1.4 TWh accounts for approximately 173 million gallons (657 liters) of gasoline being saved, which offsets 1.5B kilograms of CO₂. While that may pale in comparison to the billions of metric tons of CO2 emitted by passenger vehicles every year in the US, it is still a significant amount of carbon being offset.

More Changes Coming

With such a strong start to the year, we can expect Tesla to continue posting impressive numbers throughout Q2 and likely throughout the remainder of 2025. Tesla’s pace of opening over 2,000 stalls (equivalent to 250 8-stall sites) per quarter seems to be well established, which means more density, faster charging, and more range for more parts of the world.

Looking into upcoming Supercharger improvements, Tesla intends to launch 500kW Supercharging for the Cybertruck by Q3 2025, alongside the first deployments of the V4 Supercharger cabinets. Tesla has also recently announced an upcoming change to Supercharger pricing and that Virtual Queues are coming, which won’t force you to wait in line at congested Superchargers.

Tesla Adds Third-Party Charge Cable Release Shortcut in Update 2025.20 [VIDEO]

June 5, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s charging cables include a button on the handle that lets you easily stop charging and unlock the connector—but most third-party chargers don’t. If you’re using a non-Tesla charger, stopping a charge and releasing the cable or adapter typically means opening the Tesla app or using the in-car controls.

Now, Tesla is making that process a bit easier for Model 3 and Model Y owners.

How to Quickly Release Adapter or Charging Cable

As of update 2025.20, Tesla is introducing a shortcut that will stop the charging session and unlock the charging cable or adapter that is locked in place with a pin while the vehicle is charging.

By simply pulling and holding the rear left door handle, located next to the charge port on the Model 3 or Model Y, for three seconds will now cause the vehicle to stop charging.

Since Tesla locks the charging cable or adapter in place while the vehicle is charging or the vehicle is locked, this new feature can only be used if the vehicle is unlocked or if a key, such as your phone, is nearby.

The primary benefit of this method is for those using charging cables that don’t have an unlatch button or for owners using adapters, like the J1772 or CCS to NACS adapters, which may not unlatch if you press the button on the cable.

This is a nice little feature that'll go unnoticed by the vast majority of owners, but it’ll greatly benefit a few individuals who may not need to reach into their pocket or car to unlatch a third-party cable every day.

Feature in Action

Unlatching Charging Cable in 2025.20 pic.twitter.com/MBxTodOXOz
— Max Bracco (@max_bracco) June 5, 2025

This feature is included in Tesla’s latest software update, 2025.20, which just started rolling out to customers in certain regions. The update isn’t as big as we were hoping for, likely due to Tesla’s engineers being focused on Robotaxi-specific features.