Tesla upgrades German Supercharger network to 250 kW
Tesla started installing its fast-charging Supercharger network in 2012 and has installed over 60,000 Superchargers worldwide to date. Tesla initially launched the service in the USA, but it also rolled it out in Germany in 2014.
There are currently four generations of Superchargers, and older models of the charging station are no longer technically up to date and offer a slower charging capacity. For that reason, Tesla updated its Supercharger network in Germany to the newer V3 and V4 generation charging stations, making it possible to charge with up to 250 kW at all 250 locations in Germany. In recent months, Tesla upgraded 69 locations in Germany from V2 to the latest V4 technology. This affects a total of 640 charging points.
While the V2 Superchargers could only charge with 150 kilowatts, the V4 Supercharger can charge with 250 kilowatts – and the V3 Supercharger as well. Even though the charging capacity of the V3 and V4 is the same on paper, the new generation offers a major advantage: with its significantly longer charging cable and small display on the side, it is designed to allow electric cars from other brands to charge at Tesla charging stations without any problems.
The older V2 and V3 columns were still designed solely for charging Teslas – and they all have the charging connection at the rear left, which is why a very short charging cable was sufficient. Since Tesla gradually opened up its Superchargers to other brands in 2021, a major problem quickly became apparent: if electric cars from other brands do not have their charging connection at the rear left, they block an additional parking space in order to be able to use the short cable. The Supercharger V4, which has been rolled out since March 2023, will therefore not only benefit Tesla drivers, but also electric cars from other manufacturers.
Last November, Tesla also introduced new control cabinets for its V4 Superchargers, also known as the V4 Cabinet. This has the advantage that even higher charging capacities than the 250 kW mentioned above are possible; specifically, charging processes with up to 500 kW at the peak should be possible. The Model 3, Y, S and X are not capable of this, but at least the Cybertruck, Tesla’s first car with an 800-volt system, can charge faster. The Tesla Semi truck should even be able to charge with 1.2 megawatts on these systems.
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