Meghana KandraElon Musk mentions in a reply to a tweet about the upcoming Tesla Supercharger V3 upgrade from 250kW to 300kW. Currently, Superchargers have a 1MW power cabinet and do not split power nearby vehicles. With this upgrade, the charging time will drop to less than 15 minutes when the battery is in optimal condition.
Image credits- Tesla PH
Usually, the Superchargers charge the Tesla Model 3 Long Range at 75 miles for 5 minutes with peak efficiency. Elon Musk mentions an upgrade along with a reply stating that Model S has better range and fast charging. But Model Y and Model 3 have better performance and efficiency. He replied to a tweet stating that Tesla bagged the top 3 positions in Car & Driver “EV 1000”.
Not bad, although new Model S has more range & faster charging. 3 & Y should use long range version, as Performance version is meant for max speed & handling, not max range.
Supercharger network is being upgraded to 250kW to 300kW, so that will help too.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2021
Tesla’s charging time is already among the fastest charging stations with 250kW. Currently, it takes a Tesla Model S to charge fully with 250kW at 15 minutes. This update is greatly appreciated by Tesla owners as new Superchargers are coming up in various locations. As mentioned by Musk, Tesla Model S has a better range and is highly preferred by regular users. Model Y and 3 are preferred by those who prefer performance and efficiency for a faster commute.
Tesla wins first, second and third
As per Car and Driver, the top EVs are dominated by Tesla models. Where Tesla Model S Long Range Plus bagged first place, followed by Model Y, then Model 3. Many factors for consideration for this leaderboard to be created, it wasn’t just speed. Stated as, “road trip intended to benchmark the state of EV technology and the nation’s charging infrastructure by road-tripping EVs beyond the range of a single charge.”
Here, the result was evaluated based on some questions like How much better is the charging infrastructure?, How long will the vehicle last after being charged? and so on. On a practical approach based on user experience, Tesla Model S Long Range Plus is the best EV among 1000 cars.
For this research, the charging stations played a huge role. As charging time is an advantage. Also, the batteries seem to be draining quickly on steep roads. For example, Nissan Leaf can be a great vehicle to go around within the city but would be a bad choice to travel long distances or hilly areas.
Car and Driver concluded that they are aware of the country not having sufficient EV charging infrastructure. However, for now, Tesla bagged the first place as it is easier for Tesla owners who have a better Tesla Supercharging network at multiple locations.
Eric Tingwall writes, “Our drivers are split when asked whether the EV 1000 was harder or easier than expected, but most say that if they were to do the trip again, they would do one thing differently: drive a gas car. And that includes the Tesla drivers. We’ll know that the charging networks and EV technology are fully baked when we’re no longer saying that.”