esla’s Supercharger network continues to grow, but most of the charging actually occurs at home.
While the company already offers an assortment of chargers, it has quietly launched a new one that doesn’t have to be hardwired into your house but plugs into an existing NEMA 14-50 outlet instead.
As a result, the charger is portable and can be throw in your trunk for charging away from home – and, as Electrek noted, this is Tesla’s first non-hardwired Wall Connector.
This makes the new charger ideal for people who don’t want a hardwired solution or perhaps own multiple homes with existing 14-50 outlets and can also be used to top off your vehicle when you are, for example, visiting friends, assuming of course they have a 14-50 outlet.
The charger costs $500 (£388 / €438), but it offers a 25 percent faster charging rate than the Gen 2 Mobile Connector that comes with each new Tesla. It has a 24 foot (7.3 meter) charging cable which provides 40 amps (9.6 kW) of power to Model S, Model X and Model 3 Long Range vehicles. Model 3 Mid- and Standard Range vehicles charge at a slightly lower 32 amps (7.6 kW).
While the automaker still recommends that owners get a hardwired charger, the new unit can prove to be very useful to those who don’t want the latter and/or would like to have something faster to charge their EVs with when they’re away from home.