Tesla has the ability to to improve their vehicles through free over-the-air (OTA) software updates. In their next software update Tesla will make road tripping much easier by predicting Supercharger availability.
Tesla has the unique ability to be able to monitor the status of their expansive Supercharger network in real-time. Some of the data they track includes which stalls are out of order and which stalls in use, allowing them to have a precise understanding of when stations are at their busiest. Now the company is taking it a step further and using that real-time data, along with data from the fleet, to predict how busy a Supercharger will be at your estimated time of arrival.
This Predictive Charger Availability is included in the 2023.38 software update, which just started rolling out this week. According to the release notes, first shared by Not A Tesla App, your navigation will now predict how busy a Supercharger will be, and if necessary, display an estimated wait time based on your navigation’s estimated arrival time.
“Superchargers now forecast availability and wait time by factoring in the travel time for you and other Tesla vehicles en route, as well as past activity at that Supercharger,” the release notes read.
This addition comes just a few months before Tesla is expected to see a significant increase in traffic at their Supercharger stations in North America. Since earlier this year more than a dozen major automakers have agreed to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) in their future electric vehicles (EVs), starting in 2025. Before that however those EV owners will be provided with an adapter that will allow them to plug their CCS-equipped cars into more than 12,000 Superchargers across Canada and the US.
Tesla has also been rapidly expanding the number of Supercharger stations equipped with the Magic Dock, a built-in CCS adapter. The company’s latest V4 Superchargers are also starting to be installed in the US, and these feature an integrated CCS adapter, as well as a payment screen and tap and go credit card reader.
