The new Tesla v4 Superchargers are just now being tested in the real world. Let's see what happened with this Tesla owner who used them.
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The V4 Tesla Super Chargers Are Fast!
The new Tesla V4 superchargers are here and are now being used by Tesla users. There are very few of these, and we have a Tesla user, Kim Java, in Atlanta, Georgia, who is using one of these V4 Tesla superchargers with 16 stalls.
These chargers are tall - much taller than other Tesla superchargers. There is a payment screen and a charging cable that is attached to a "Magic Dock" which has a CCS charger.
Kim took the cable and showed that it is 3 feet longer than the previous cables: 10 feet now instead of 6.5 feet long. That's really nice because other EVs have their ports in different places and in the front instead of the back.
The cable is lighter and thinner and immersion cooled. The immersion cooled cables outperformed the liquid cooled cables in the V3 superchargers. This makes them more efficient in keeping the temperatures in check when pulling up to 350 kW in the chargers.
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More About the V4 Superchargers
There is a sticker on the cables saying that they are 650 amp name plate rated cables, which will be the same superchargers the Tesla semi will be using. The Tesla semi will have access to 1 megawatt charging, whereas these will have 350 kW maximum charging - which is still fast.
There are four cabinets in the back of the V4 supercharger station that are V3 cabinets. This is the same for other V4 supercharger locations, such as Oregon, Alabama, and Nevada.
All v4 superchargers in the U.S. are limited to 250 kW right now. When they are boosted to 350 kW, you will see a much higher speed. Tesla hasn't said when or how they will enable the 350 kW. When this is enabled, you'll be able to get speeds up to 1,400 miles per hour, but it will require a low state of charge and battery preconditioning.
The credit card reader isn't working yet, but Tesla will eventually get that fixed. Kim is using the magic dock, but not the CCS adapter. Non Tesla EVs will be able to do everything through their app and in Europe the superchargers must have a credit card reader. Tesla is also doing this in the U.S. for tax benefit reasons.
Kim plugged in to see what her charging speeds would be. It looks like she has a Model 3 of some kind - my guess is performance, with several customizations. She started at 19% state of charge.
She started pulling 256 kW and getting about 1,067 miles per hour, which is pretty good. This takes 6 minutes to go to 50%. That's 6 minutes for 30%. That's not too bad!
When at 350 kW, you'll get 115 miles in 5 minutes, which is 42% of my Model 3 RWD - that's impressive!
There is also a huge space for RV and trailer parking, including semi trucks like the Tesla semi.
There is also a trash and recycle bin, which isn't at many of the supercharger locations. This is a good thing!
The 4 cabinets that I spoke of last time are there to power 4 chargers each. The cabinets need to be upgraded to V4 in order to make the supercharger stations get 350 kW. The cabinets also aren't rated for 800 volt EVs, so non-Tesla EVs, such as the Audi eTron GT, Hummer EV, Honda Ionic 5 & 6, and Kia EV 6 will get slower speeds until the cabinets are upgraded.
Most Tesla's have a 400 volt architecture, but the Cybertruck will have an 800 volt architecture. For the Cybertruck to get max charging, the cabinets will need to be upgraded to enable that.
Immersion Cooling
Kim went from 19% to 60% in about 10 minutes. When she grabbed the cable, it was cool to the touch, and it wasn't hot at all. The immersion cooling worked wonderfully. Immersion cooling is used for big data centers and computers that are used in crypto mining to keep heat intensive units cool.
She unplugged the light and easy to use cable and was finished. She went to turn her car around to see if she could pull in the front and have the charger reach still.
The charging cable would reach if she pulled forward about another foot and a half. For Tesla's, you should still back in, even with the long cables. Lucid and Rivian EVs might be able to just pull in.
I'm very excited for developments in these V4 superchargers. They are a step in the right direction for more people buying an EV and using them.
In Other Tesla News: Tesla Cybertruck Complete Guide: Everything We Know So Far.
What do you think about these new V4 superchargers? When will we get the 350 kW charging speed?
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Hi! My name is Jeremy Johnson, and I am a Tesla investor and supporter. I first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, I've become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla I can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies like Aptera. I cover Tesla and EV developments at Torque News. You can follow me on X.COM or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow my Tesla news coverage. Image Credit, Kim Java, Screenshot
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