Top Gear Declares Tesla Model 3 Fastest Charging Car In The World

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Thanks to a firmware update over the weekend, Long Range versions of the Tesla Model 3 are now the “fastest charging electric cars in the world,” according to Top Gear. The new update allows the cars to connect to 200kW European ultra fast chargers, which can add up to 850 miles of range per hour to properly configured vehicles. The Model 3 LR is one of very few such properly configured cars.

Tesla Model 3 Long Range

Since the official stats for the Long Range Model 3 say it has 329 miles of range, that means a complete recharge using one of those 200 kW chargers should take about 20 minutes — about the time it takes to freshen up and have a quick bite at most service areas.

There’s even more good news for Tesla owners. The company opened its first 250 kW V3 Superchargers at the Fremont factory over the week. As Kyle Field informed us, these faster than ultra-fast chargers will be rolled out in coming months across the US and Europe.

“Tesla’s Supercharging V3 (aka Nanocharging) introduces a completely new charging architecture. Where version 2.0 split a single 150kW backbone across two charging pair (A/B stations), the new architecture steps up to a 1MW backbone. That’s right — 1 megawatt, folks! That MW feed is then split amongst 4 stations that each get a 250kW dedicated feed,” Kyle writes.

“Pushing out the new On-Route Battery preconditioning was just one example of how Tesla has used software to improve charging speeds without the need to spend any extra capital,” Kyle Field adds. “On-Route Battery preconditioning used intelligence to start warming up the battery when navigating to a Tesla Supercharging station, resulting in faster charging times.”

In a statement to Top Gear, Tesla said, “When our own V3 Supercharger technology is introduced, these cars will be able to charge even faster at 250kW peak charge rates.” As Teslarati points out, at the higher rate, a Model 3 LR will be able to add 75 miles of driving range in as little at 5 minutes.

Using Tesla’s V3 Superchargers, a Model 3 Long Range will be able to add 180 miles in just 15 minutes. A Model S will be able to add 130 miles in the same 15 minutes, while a Model X will be able to add up to 115 miles due to its lower efficiency compared to the Model S.

Lots of people are taking shots at Tesla these days. It’s as popular at calling anyone who cares about climate change a socialist. In the face of such constant criticism, Tesla just keeps moving forward, constantly improving the electric car experience for its owners and setting the standard for other companies to aspire to.


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Steve Hanley

Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Florida or anywhere else The Force may lead him. He is proud to be "woke" and doesn't really give a damn why the glass broke. He believes passionately in what Socrates said 3000 years ago: "The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new." You can follow him on Substack and LinkedIn but not on Fakebook or any social media platforms controlled by narcissistic yahoos.

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