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Top Tech Reviewer Corrected By Tesla on Vehicle Wireless Charging Efficiency - Tesla Gives The Exact Efficiency of Wireless Charging

A popular tech reviewer was corrected recently on vehicle wireless charging by Tesla, showing that anybody can be corrected on X, and in this case, it was the top tech reviewer on the Internet.
Top Tech Reviewer Corrected By Tesla on Wireless Charging Efficiency - Tesla Gives The Exact Efficiency of Wireless Charging

A popular tech reviewer - in fact - THE top tech reviewer was corrected on X recently, by none other than the official X account for Tesla. The correct came to this statement that Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, posted on X yesterday. It all started with an iOS developer asking a question about wireless charging and the Tesla robotaxi and how it could not be inefficient. He said:

Hold up, it doesn't even touch the car? Genuinely asking, is there a way this *couldn't* be inefficient?

Marques (MKBHD) responded to this statement with this response:

Nope, wireless charging has a massive heat waste. A really noble goal for something like this would be maybe 75% efficiency

The official Tesla account on X then replied to this statement today, saying:

Efficiency is well above 90%

There were also 3 community notes posted against MKBHD's statement for the following:

Some of the key statements from these articles are:

Witriticy wrote:

Plug-in charging is not 100% efficient. Energy loss, primarily in the form of heat, occurs every step of the way from grid to battery. What’s more, regardless of the brand, a plug-in EV charger is made of many components, any one of which may be more or less efficient than similar components in another charger.

So, the “efficiency” of the transfer of energy from the grid all the way to battery encompasses a range; a typical Level 2 home charger operates in the range of about 83-94% efficiency grid-to-battery depending on which one you buy

They also had this to say about wireless charging for vehicles:

Wireless charging operates within a narrow band of efficiency (88-93%) that is equivalent to Level 2 plug-in charging, plus you get the added efficiency of not having to spend time plugging and unplugging the vehicle.

It pays to listen to those close to the technology and not those that may be just dealing in theory or not involved directly in the engineering of a product.

In short, Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), a prominent tech reviewer, initially speculated on X (formerly known as Twitter) that achieving an efficiency above 75% for Tesla's wireless charging system would be remarkable, indicating a skepticism or lower expectation regarding the efficiency of wireless charging technologies.

However, Tesla responded to this speculation by clarifying on X that their wireless charging technology actually achieves an efficiency "well above 90%."

This correction from Tesla directly contradicted MKBHD's assumption, highlighting a significant gap between what was expected or known about wireless charging efficiencies at the time and what Tesla had managed to achieve with their technology.

This interaction not only corrected the misconception but also showcased Tesla's advancement in wireless charging technology, suggesting that they had overcome previous limitations in efficiency commonly associated with wireless power transfer.

At the end, MKBHD replied, humbly saying:

I stand corrected. Can’t wait for it to ship

Good on him for having the humility to say that. Much respect to you, Marques!

Was MKBHD or Tesla correct in this case about the efficiency of wireless charging?

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Hi! I'm Jeremy Noel Johnson, and I am a Tesla investor and supporter and own a 2022 Model 3 RWD EV and I don't have range anxiety :). I enjoy bringing you breaking Tesla news as well as anything about Tesla or other EV companies I can find, like Aptera. Other interests of mine are AI, Tesla Energy and the Tesla Bot! You can follow me on X.COM or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow my Tesla and EV news coverage.

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Article Reference: Tesla

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Comments

DeanMcManis (not verified)    October 20, 2024 - 12:29PM

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This was a logical comment by MKBHD because high power wireless (induction) charging has historically been far less efficient than plug in charging (which is usually in the 90%+ range) But Tesla bought Wiferion, a German wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging company, in mid-2023 for $76 million, but sold the company a few months later. Tesla kept many of their top engineers in a "acqui-hire" move. Gaining the expertise to build a more efficient induction charging system for future Tesla models. It will be a very convenient system for charging, especially for at-home charging overnight. But I wonder if it will be fast enough to support the planned RoboTaxi business model.

DeanMcManis (not verified)    October 21, 2024 - 7:37PM

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This was a logical comment by MKBHD because high power wireless (induction) charging has historically been far less efficient than plug in charging (which is usually in the 90%+ range) But Tesla bought Wiferion, a German wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging company, in mid-2023 for $76 million, but sold the company a few months later. Tesla kept many of their top engineers in a "acqui-hire" move. Gaining the expertise to build a more efficient induction charging system for future Tesla models. It will be a very convenient system for charging, especially for at-home charging overnight. But I wonder if it will be fast enough to support the planned RoboTaxi business model.