Tesla is currently testing out increased charging speeds at select Supercharger stations in the US. The tests are being conducted at V4 Supercharger stations, or V3.5 or V3+ Superchargers as they are commonly referred to, which feature the newest V4 Supercharger posts, but still have the same power cabinets from V3 stations.
Tesla first launched their V3 Supercharger in March 2019, offering significantly faster charging speeds than its predecessors, delivering up to 250 kilowatts (kW) of power per car, compared to 150kW at V2 Superchargers. The V3 Superchargers were able to deliver these charging speeds based on a 1 megawatt (MW) power cabinet.
Tesla then unveiled their V4 Superchargers last year, again promising a significant increase in charging speeds. However, when the first stations started being installed in Europe, and subsequently in North America and elsewhere, they were built with the same power cabinets as the V3 Superchargers, meaning they delivered the same 250kW peak charging speeds as V3 stations.
While Tesla has yet to roll out upgraded power cabinets, the company has quietly made some adjustments to these V3+ Superchargers, and is testing out higher charging speeds at select stations in the US.
These higher charging speeds were first accidentally discovered by Teslatino, who shared his Cybertruck peaked at 323kW at the V3+ Supercharger in Los Gatos, California.
There was some speculation that it may have been a bug, as it was confirmed this site still has the original power cabinets. However, Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill later confirmed it was not a bug and that the company is conducting tests at select stations. Morrill didn’t confirm the exact figures Tesla is aiming for, and added that not all V3+ stations are included in the testing.
Running a trial on a few different V3+ stations (V3 cabinet + V4 charge post). This is not a bug, but it’s also not rolled out to all hardware capable stations. I guess since @TesLatino has visited 97% of all North America supercharger locations he was bound to find one.
— Wes (@wmorrill3) August 5, 2024
While the increased charging speeds is great news, not all Tesla owners will be able to take advantage, as most cars are limited to 250kW. However, that’s not the case with the Cybertruck, and recent Model Y builds, as well as the Model S/X refresh, and rumoured to be capable of 300kW+ charging.
