We took our 2020 Model X Long Range Plus on a 1,000 mile round trip this weekend. This gave us a chance to test the new "Enhanced Charging Speed" update with a 250 kW Supercharger at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas.
The first time were hooked up to it we were at 21% SOC. It quickly climbed to 198 kW and stayed above 150 kW for a significant amount of time. It was a solid improvement over previous SC charging. On the return leg, I deliberately arrived with only 9%. It started out at 70KW, hit 90kW at 10%, hit 140kW at 12%, and peaked at 174kW at 21%, then gradually dropped.
So, the F battery also goes above 150 kW with the new update. That is the good news.
Now the bad news. Just like the 150 kW chargers, the speed is not predictable. Assuming you are under 30% SOC, and you are not sharing a paired set of stalls, our charging speed in the western US in the summer can vary from 42 kW to 198 kW, with an average hook up speed of perhaps 80 kW. From there, it can go up or down. It was pretty apparent that there were two issues:
Observation - When you go out from the urban areas, the most common Tesla we saw were Model X's followed by Model 3's.
The first time were hooked up to it we were at 21% SOC. It quickly climbed to 198 kW and stayed above 150 kW for a significant amount of time. It was a solid improvement over previous SC charging. On the return leg, I deliberately arrived with only 9%. It started out at 70KW, hit 90kW at 10%, hit 140kW at 12%, and peaked at 174kW at 21%, then gradually dropped.
So, the F battery also goes above 150 kW with the new update. That is the good news.
Now the bad news. Just like the 150 kW chargers, the speed is not predictable. Assuming you are under 30% SOC, and you are not sharing a paired set of stalls, our charging speed in the western US in the summer can vary from 42 kW to 198 kW, with an average hook up speed of perhaps 80 kW. From there, it can go up or down. It was pretty apparent that there were two issues:
- This trip was on July 31 and Aug 1. The temperatures were normally above 100°F when supercharging and as high as 114°F. This probably aggravated the temperature based derating at the cable. The cable was normally hot to the touch when unplugging.
- Switching stalls could double your speed. We hooked once at 42 kW, moved over to another 'unpaired' stall and it went 80 kW.
Observation - When you go out from the urban areas, the most common Tesla we saw were Model X's followed by Model 3's.
