Photo: YouTube screenshot
There are two ways in which autonomous cars can recharge: either via wireless charging or by using an automated charger that can plug itself in without any human intervention.
With autonomous driving being one of Tesla's self-declared long-term goals, it's only natural for the EV maker to have the matter on its mind. However, after teasing the heavily disturbing robotic snake arm five years ago, Tesla has been pretty quiet on the matter ever since. And, we can all probably agree, Tesla doesn't usually do quiet.
A wireless charger would provide a much simpler solution to the problem since it doesn't involve anything else than having the vehicle's AI guide the car over an induction plate. Obviously, if things were that simple, we wouldn't have any other type of charging but wireless. Just look at the spider webs on your laptop's ethernet port - given the option, nobody will choose to use a cable unless there's a great advantage to be had.
This is why wireless EV charging never really caught up yet: the system just isn't capable of the kind of charging rates you get when using an actual physical connection. With the Supercharger network and the high rates at which the cars can replenish their batteries being two of Tesla's strongest selling points, it's no surprise the company is veering toward an automated charger as opposed to forgoing cables altogether.
As we've said, news on the matter has been scarce lately, but leave it to Tesla's PR department to bring the matter back under the spotlight. What do you mean "What PR department?" We're obviously talking about Elon Musk and his Twitter account, the main source of previously unreleased information on the company's products.
Asked about the feasibility of having a vehicle with FSD (Full Self-Driving) summoned across states (how do people come up with these things?), Musk confirmed it would be possible "provided we do our metal gear snake autocoupler." Just like in an actual press conference organized by a PR department came the logical follow-up question: "Will we ever see the automatic snake charger?" To that, Musk simply replied "Yes."
That's as vague as it can get, but it's all we have right now. We don't know when it will happen or what solution Tesla has decided on, considering there were plans for a floor-mounted charger that would plug into a socket underneath the vehicle as well. Considering the question was about the "snake charger" and not just any automated charger, we're entitled to expect a serpent-like solution. A lot of people will be very disappointed now if that doesn't happen.
A wireless charger would provide a much simpler solution to the problem since it doesn't involve anything else than having the vehicle's AI guide the car over an induction plate. Obviously, if things were that simple, we wouldn't have any other type of charging but wireless. Just look at the spider webs on your laptop's ethernet port - given the option, nobody will choose to use a cable unless there's a great advantage to be had.
This is why wireless EV charging never really caught up yet: the system just isn't capable of the kind of charging rates you get when using an actual physical connection. With the Supercharger network and the high rates at which the cars can replenish their batteries being two of Tesla's strongest selling points, it's no surprise the company is veering toward an automated charger as opposed to forgoing cables altogether.
As we've said, news on the matter has been scarce lately, but leave it to Tesla's PR department to bring the matter back under the spotlight. What do you mean "What PR department?" We're obviously talking about Elon Musk and his Twitter account, the main source of previously unreleased information on the company's products.
Asked about the feasibility of having a vehicle with FSD (Full Self-Driving) summoned across states (how do people come up with these things?), Musk confirmed it would be possible "provided we do our metal gear snake autocoupler." Just like in an actual press conference organized by a PR department came the logical follow-up question: "Will we ever see the automatic snake charger?" To that, Musk simply replied "Yes."
That's as vague as it can get, but it's all we have right now. We don't know when it will happen or what solution Tesla has decided on, considering there were plans for a floor-mounted charger that would plug into a socket underneath the vehicle as well. Considering the question was about the "snake charger" and not just any automated charger, we're entitled to expect a serpent-like solution. A lot of people will be very disappointed now if that doesn't happen.
Yeah, provided we do our metal gear snake autocoupler
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2020
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2020
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