You might be new to owning an electric vehicle (EV) in general or to Tesla in particular, or maybe you’re just doing a little research before making the leap into the exciting world of zero-emission transportation. Regardless of why you are here, the question “how long does it take to charge a Tesla?” has likely crossed your mind at some point. The answer is not as straightforward as you might hope to hear, but we have made an attempt to summarize everything that is important for you to understand.
Method of charging a Tesla car
To begin, we will go through the various charging levels and how they are differentiated from one another so that you will have a better understanding of how long it may or may not take to fully charge your Tesla. Regardless of whether or not your electric vehicle is a Tesla, this is an important consideration that plays a role in the amount of time it will take to charge it.
Level 1; AC Charging
Imagine that Level 1 is the standard charging option for all devices. If you are in the vicinity of a standard wall socket, you will have the ability to charge your Tesla using that. Having said that, the absolute lowest amount of power that can be plugged into an electric vehicle is 120V. Therefore, if you’re curious about how long it would take to fully charge your 2021 Tesla Long Range Model 3, you should prepare yourself for the possibility that it could take days rather than hours. Not the best.
Level 2; AC Charging
Although DC fast chargers are becoming more widespread, level 2 chargers remain to be the most prevalent type seen at third-party public charging stations (more of them in a minute). In residential settings, 240V plugs typically provide roughly 40 amps, but they can go as high as 80, and they are typically positioned in a more precise manner than normal 120V outlets.
Consider this charger to be the same as your clothes dryer or any other significant home equipment. Tesla strongly recommends that owners install a Level 2 charger in their garage or home if they have the space for it. Having an electrician or other specialist come and install this should not be too difficult.
When compared to Level 1, the speeds you can expect at Level 2 are significantly higher. We’re talking hours, not days.
Tesla Supercharger (DC Fast Charging)
Okay, that’s impressive, but how long does it take for a Tesla to fully charge using a Supercharger? Depending on the rate of charge, the majority of Tesla Superchargers can now replenish an electric vehicle’s battery with up to 200 miles of range in just 15 minutes. Depending on the Supercharger pile you are at, the DC charging speeds can range anywhere from 90 kW to 250 kW.
Although the maximum power that can be delivered by a Supercharger at the moment is 250 kW, Tesla has revealed that it intends to boost DCFC charge speeds to upwards of 300 kW.
You are able to conduct a search for local Supercharger stations using either the Tesla app or the vehicle itself. This search will tell you what charging stalls are available as well as the output they are producing at the moment. Navigation is another useful tool. The in-vehicle travel planner that comes standard on all Tesla vehicles is meant to navigate drivers to their destinations through a path that includes stops at Superchargers.
How long to charge a Tesla car?
To summarize, there are a lot of different considerations to take into account when estimating how long it would take to charge your slick Tesla. The capacity of your battery, the way in which you charge it, and the amount of power that is readily available all have an impact on how soon you can disconnect and resume your journey.
The following is a rundown of the available charging methods, along with an estimate of how long it will take for each to get a Tesla with a low battery up to full capacity:
- Level 1 AC (120V outlet at home): 20-40 hours
- AC Level 2 (Third party chargers/Tesla chargers/Tesla home charger): 8-12 hours
- Level 3 DCFC (Tesla Supercharger): 15-25 minutes
As you may have figured by now, the Supercharger network offered by Tesla is the best option, especially when time is of the essence. However, because of the extremely high amount of direct current that they produce, Superchargers are not advised for use in daily charging.Instead, they are there to give a quick charge for drivers who are on the move or who are traveling for a longer period of time by car. When it is convenient, Tesla advises customers to charge their vehicles at home using a Level 2 outlet.
In Conclusion
It is my hope that you have a better knowledge of the many elements that determine the amount of time it takes to charge a Tesla after reading this. You should have a better notion of what to prioritize as you charge your Tesla depending on how much time you have, where you are, and where you will inevitably need to be depending on whether you have a Model Y Long Range or a Model S Plaid.
This should be the case regardless of which model you have.This should also be of some assistance to you in your research if you are still relatively new to electric vehicles (EVs) and/or Tesla. At this point, all that remains is for you to choose the version that best suits your needs.
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