Tesla Suggests Faster 350KW Charging Matching Lucid And Hummer EV

Tesla has recently increased the charging speed of its luxury vehicles the Model S and X. With the new update, the two vehicles can now charge at 250KW peak supercharging rate, making them finally on par with their smaller brethren Model 3 and Y.

However, rumors of an upcoming faster supercharging speed (greater than 250KW) have been going around the Tesla community since the Cybertruck unveil. Elon Musk at the time when talking about the charging rate for the truck just said it will be more than 250KW and the final number will be announced at a later date.

And now Tesla’s president of Automotive Jerome Guillen let slip that Tesla is looking at 350 kW charging for its cars. This was shared in the Q&A segment of the company’s recently held Q3 earnings call.

In a response to a question from Loup Ventures’ Gene Munster, who was inquiring about the Tesla Semi’s Megacharger rollout, Jerome said that the Semi truck would require a charging method above the 350kW chargers that the company is looking to release for its vehicles.

“We continue the development of the Semi. And in particular, Megachargers, we realized that the 350-kilowatt or so that we might be looking for cars is not going to be enough for Semi,” Guillen said.

In the speech, Jerome didn’t elaborate on which cars Tesla was looking to increase the supercharging speed. But, it will likely be rolled out on vehicles that will sport Tesla’s next-generation plaid powertrain. These include the Model S, X, Cybertruck, and Roadster.

Another thing that is also not clear is whether Tesla will be rolling out newer V4 superchargers to achieve this speed or if the company will be unlocking faster charge rates for the current V3 superchargers. According to leaks, the latter seems to be more likely. Individuals who have pocked around at the V3 superchargers have said they can charge over 600KW.

If true, with V3 superchargers already starting to pop up everywhere, this should be great news for anyone who has a reservation for one of the above vehicles with a plaid powertrain. By the time these vehicles roll out, there should be thousands of stalls ready to support them.

Currently, the fastest charging Tesla is Model 3 with a peak charge rate of 1000miles per hour or 75 miles in just 5 minutes. The Model S and X even though they have the same peak charging rate as the Model 3, they are larger vehicles with bigger batteries. As a result, to get the same amount of miles they need more energy.

Related News: GMC Hummer EV Doesn't Stand A Chance Against The Tesla Cybertruck

This would mean 350KW charging coming to the plaid cars probably will just result in the new models being able to match Model 3s miles per hour number.

One reason for the higher charging speed is the new 4680 cell design going into Tesla’s future vehicles. Tesla in the Battery Day event said the tables design of the next generation cells improves supercharging performance.

The two graphs show supercharging speed improvements between a regular battery cell and a battery with a tables design. Given that the Lucid Air and the GMC Hummer EV are already capable of charging at 350KW peak rate I would assume Tesla will be able to have even faster rates when the vehicles come to market.

So what do you think? Is Tesla working on faster supercharging for its new vehicles? And do you think matching Model 3’s miles per hour speed is enough? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

Update: Lucid Motors just announced delivery of Lucid Air vehicles with a date.

For more information check out: Tesla Starts Shipping Made In China Model 3s To Europe Also, see Fire Regulations Might Force The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Loop To Quarter Capacity.