Tesla has been making several changes to its charging capabilities lately and with a new software update, the Model 3 is now Supercharging 20% faster.
Earlier this year, Tesla launched its new Supercharger V3 and when using it the new with the Model 3, Tesla pushed the charge rate to 250 kW, which is a new high for electric vehicles currently in production.
At the same time, Tesla unlocked even more power out of its existing Supercharger stations. They went from 120 kW to 150 KW max capacity.
While some owners were able to reach higher charge rates following this update, the overall charging curve didn’t seem to be optimized for the new capacity.
It appears to have been optimized with the release of the new 2019.20.2 software update when using the new On-route Battery Warmup feature.
A Model 3 owner going by Wugz on Reddit tested the charging capacity after the update compared to the previous versions:
He explains the results from his tests:
“Starting from 5%, the Model 3 long range pack now immediately starts charging at 125 kW (formerly 60 kW), and reaches 143 kW by 9% (formerly 13%). The peak rate is maintained until 45%, then shows a linear decrease to 118 kW at 50%, followed by a plateau until 59%, and after that the rate decreases linearly again. This “double hump” may be the new curve or may just be an anomaly with my (one and only) session.”
It results in a roughly 20% faster charge time from 5% to 80% state-of-charge, which is a pretty good example of a charging session.
The software update didn’t mention an improvement on the Supercharging cycle on V2 Supercharger stations.
We contacted Tesla about the impact of the 2019.20.2 software update on Supercharging, but we haven’t received a response yet.
Electrek’s Take
That’s just one data point, but it’s an exciting result, especially when you consider that Tesla can significantly improve an important part of the ownership experience, charging, through a software update.
Sustaining power was never the biggest strength of Tesla’s Superchargers, but it now looks like they are improving on it.
Recently, Audi highlighted the difference between sustained power and top power.
Hopefully, Tesla can confirm the role of the software update and we will share details if we get an answer.
If you have some experience Supercharging on the new update, let us know.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments