Remember the metallic snakes Elon Musk told us would eventually become the next step in Tesla’s charging technology? Well, they’re here, as showcased in a video that’s just been released by the Palo Alto carmaker.
We are talking about an autonomous charger that can find the car on its own and connect to it. Tesla describes this as a prototype charger, so we’ll still have to wait for the production form to arrive to get more details about the technology involved.
The public reaction on Tesla’s Twitter and Youtube range from “this is the proper 2015” to “creepy” and we have to admit we agree with both. But this is of less importance. What really matters are the possibilities this self-extending machine will offer.
This replaces wireless charging, at least for now
A while back, Tesla was expected to offer wireless charging, so that the car and its charging system could become an autonomous entity, making life easy for the user.
The problem is that wireless charging efficiency drops dramatically at high power outputs such as the ones used by Tesla. For now, the company has decided to stick with a solid link between the car and the charger.
Besides, despite Tesla will never mention a word about this, we’re convinced the “creepy” element is part of the marketing scheme. Such displays of technology always demand respect once we’re done joking about snakes or less orthodox stuff here on the internet.
It’s interesting to see Tesla’s incredible development pace, especially given its funding. Think about it. This... small company is currently finalizing the work on the Model X crossover, constantly introducing hardware of software upgrades for their bread and butter Model S, working on a palette of power sources/chargers and keeping up with the world’s most vicious hackers. And keep in mind, all this happens in 2015, whem safety regulators and the world wide web will instantly punish you for the slightest mistake.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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