Tesla has submitted plans for a new Supercharger site that shows a new design for its iconic charging stalls. The drawings suggest that the American brand is about to roll out a new, faster-charging unit equipped with a longer cable to allow all electric cars to charge at its Supercharger sites.

While Tesla has been praised for opening up a percentage of its once-exclusive Supercharger sites to all electric car drivers, the design of current V2 (up to 150kW) and V3 (up to 250kW) Supercharger stalls means that cars with charging ports on the rear drivers side effectively block the bay next to it for Tesla drivers (whose cars have the charging port on the opposite side). By making the cable longer, drivers of all cars will potentially be able to use Tesla sites without having to block a bay. 

The drawings (for a new site in Danvers, Massachusetts) were discovered and posted by twitter user John Harris (https://twitter.com/JH_bedford). They show what is described in the planning application as an ‘Alternative Tesla Supercharger Post’, along with dimensions. The new unit marks a significant design departure from the traditional stall that houses the cable inside the hollowed-out interior. The drawings show that Tesla is planning to add a much longer cable along with a significantly higher mounting point to allow the connector to reach further. The mounting point for the cable exit has also switched from the right hand-side of the unit to the left. 

Although the plans give no indication of the output of the new charger, Tesla has made no secret of its desire to offer more power. In a recent earnings call, the brand confirmed that it planned to increase peak charging speeds for its cars to between 300 and 350kW. Should this upgrade be imminent, Tesla is likely to increase the power output of its charging stalls to take advantage of this. While the drawings describe the new unit as an ‘alternative’, it’s understood that it may be officially called the V4 Supercharger when the first units appear. 

In the US, Tesla still builds cars with its own charging connector rather than the CCS port that all European-market cars are. All Tesla Supercharger sites are equipped with CCS connectors. Although Tesla is unlikely to switch to CCS in North America in the short term, the brand is expected to open some of its US network up to non-Tesla users. Should this happen, Tesla will need to retro-fit sites with an additional CCS connector. 

A total of 15 stations and 158 individual Superchargers are part of the pilot in the UK, making it the biggest fast-charging network of the country. Tesla operates two high power chargers in the UK, V2 units with 150kW and V3 units with a power output of 250kW. 

Tesla's new charger alongside the current V3 design