The wraps have come off Tesla’s newest stations for supercharging its electric cars.
They’re big.
The so-called Superchargers V4 were unveiled this week in Harderwijk in the Netherlands — standing tall in black and white trim and featuring the power to allow higher charge rates as well as a potential for CCS charging of non-Tesla electric vehicles.
The current V3 charging stalls have capabilities at up to 250 kilowatts. Tesla has not officially stated a maximum throughput for these V4 chargers. Some estimates suggest outputs of 500 to 1,000 kW or more for vehicles that can handle it. The 16 stations are currently open to Tesla products for testing.
Regarding the physical setup of the V4 stalls, the charging cable is attached to the side of the stall and is much longer. This will accommodate some vehicles that have a charge port on the side of their vehicle and not on the front or back.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced the launch of an option that would allow non-Tesla EVs in the U.S. access to its Supercharger stations. Essentially, the chargers are equipped with a “Magic Dock” — a built-in CCS Combo 1 adapter that allows charging non-Tesla cars with a CCS1 fast charging inlet. The Magic Docks are reportedly few and far between in the States at the moment, and some work and some don’t.
