Tesla Unveils V3 Supercharger to Cut Charging Times in Half
Tesla introduces a new V3 Supercharger capable of adding 75 miles of range in just five minutes. The upgraded architecture eliminates power sharing and promises to double the daily capacity of the charging network.
Tesla unveils its third-generation Supercharger, a completely new architecture designed to dramatically reduce charging times for electric vehicles. The V3 Supercharger supports a peak rate of 250 kilowatts and adds up to 75 miles of range to a long-range Model 3 in just five minutes. This upgrade comes as a critical solution to handle increasing customer volume and eliminate lengthy wait times at popular stations.
Unlike previous generations, the V3 system uses a 1 MW power cabinet and a liquid-cooled cable that enables charging rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. This dedicated power setup means that four charging stalls receive a full 250 kW simultaneously without power sharing. Additionally, Tesla introduces a software feature called "On Route Battery Warmup" that prepares the battery to accept peak power, reducing average charge times by 25 percent for all vehicles.
Tesla plans to begin installing V3 stations in April, prioritizing locations with the highest usage, and will expand access to all vehicle owners in the second quarter. The company also updates its existing V2 Superchargers to provide a new peak rate of 145 kW for single-vehicle charging. Overall, these combined hardware and software improvements slash average charging times by 50 percent and allow the network to serve more than twice as many vehicles per day by the end of 2019.