Tesla will officially roll out its first ultra-fast Supercharger v3 station on Wednesday, says CEO Elon Musk in a tweet. The electric automaker’s new and improved third iteration fast charger is believed to feature charging rates at 350 kilowatts or above, a number which will help owners to charge faster than ever.
Unfortunately, Tesla hasn’t supplied official numbers on just how fast its vehicles will charge, nor has an official power rating of Supercharger V3 been revealed at this time. Musk previously called 350 kW a “child’s toy” and hinted at a much higher throughput.
Current generation Model S and X battery packs have a total voltage of around 375 volts. The Model 3, which utilizes slightly denser 2170 battery cells, is believed to have a total voltage of around 350 volts. While this may seem high, it’s important to note that the battery system’s voltage is less than half that of Porsche’s Taycan, which offers a charge from 0 to 80 percent in just 15 minutes.
Presently, it takes around 56 minutes to charge a Model 3 to 80 percent at a 120 kW Tesla Supercharger. Taking the Model 3’s battery pack voltage into consideration with its known max charging amperage of 525 amps, it’s possible that the Model 3 could benefit from charging up to about 180 kW, an increase of around 50 percent.
But while the current platform of vehicles may not greatly benefit from Tesla’s upgrade, the automaker may be looking to future-proof for its upcoming offerings. Both the next-generation Tesla Roadster and Tesla Semi are slated to carry extremely large battery packs, which would potentially take aim at higher operating voltage in order to accommodate a faster charging time.
Previously, Tesla has said that 99 percent of all individuals in the United States live within 150 miles of a Supercharger, making its network the most dense of any other EV charging provider in the country. Musk claimed that with the rollout of Supercharger V3, capacity is expected to double by the end of 2019 and 95 to 100 percent of individuals in all active markets will be withing range of a Supercharger.