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I know it seems obvious, but wouldnt it suck to buy and set something up only to find out that it is not the best situation. Also, if it's so straight forward, why wouldnt the manager at tesla just say that it would work with it. Im more concerned about the rates of charge and things like that than the connector itself.
 
I know it seems obvious, but wouldnt it suck to buy and set something up only to find out that it is not the best situation. Also, if it's so straight forward, why wouldnt the manager at tesla just say that it would work with it. Im more concerned about the rates of charge and things like that than the connector itself.
They were pretty quiet about the dual charger option on the Model X, so I suspect they may not be quite sure what rate the base charging (assuming there is a dual option at all) is capable of.

I think in the X the base is capable of 48 Amps, whereas the S is only capable of 40 Amps, though when you do the dual charging upgrade I think the x tops out at 72 Amps whereas the S is 80 Amps.
 
They were pretty quiet about the dual charger option on the Model X, so I suspect they may not be quite sure what rate the base charging (assuming there is a dual option at all) is capable of.

I think in the X the base is capable of 48 Amps, whereas the S is only capable of 40 Amps, though when you do the dual charging upgrade I think the x tops out at 72 Amps whereas the S is 80 Amps.

Technically the Model X only has a single charger. You just have a, one time, choice, at build time, of getting the standard 48A charger, or you could upgrade to the 72A charger.

The Model S comes with a single 40A charger, but you can add a second 40A charger at any time.

I hope the Model 3 is like the Model X and has a 72A option.
 
Technically the Model X only has a single charger. You just have a, one time, choice, at build time, of getting the standard 48A charger, or you could upgrade to the 72A charger.

The Model S comes with a single 40A charger, but you can add a second 40A charger at any time.

I hope the Model 3 is like the Model X and has a 72A option.
Right, my bad. And that option wasn't readily apparent either, so it makes you wonder how many folks actually asked for the 72A option.

EDIT: and based on the X forum, the HPWC doesn't actually have an option to support the 48A rate, you have to go up one size. Maybe they are going to be releasing a new version that has support (the older version did then they changed the dip switches removing options).
 
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If you want to support charging other electric cars, a J1772 L2 charger is not a bad option. That's what I use. I have a GE Wattstation that can do up to 32 amps, which is good enough. But there are others that can do upwards of 80 amps or so if you want to support faster charge rates. Avoid the ones that are limited to 16 amps, that's just not enough.

Also, if you go with J1772 with Tesla adapter, I recommend ordering an extra J1772 adapter. Keep one attached to the L2 charger and keep the other with your UMC in the car.

240v @ 32 amps recharges about 21 miles of range per hour on a Model S.

The GE Wattstation does "hum" a bit while charging (though I got mine about 3 years ago now; new ones could be different if they have done any redesign). It was louder when I first got it, and got quieter over time, but it still hums. This is something I would try to investigate in advance when trying to choose an L2 charger, but it's hard to find good information on. Also consider cord length.
 
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Tesla used to have the HPWC as an "option" when you configured the Tesla Model S. They dropped it as an option, as they now recommend the UMC: at 240V / 40A, or 26-29mph, will charge 210-232mi overnight in 8 hours. The UMC only needs two 50/50 breaker (which means no change in your electrical panel) and installing a NEMA 14-50 is normally around $500. For people that need a longer length than the UMC, this is available to do the job at only $55 on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Camco 55194 50 AMP 15' PowerGrip Extension Cord: Automotive


Good stuff. Much appreciated.
 
Can someone with twitter ask a question of Musk for me regarding this subject? Since he seems to be answering all sorts of things, i'd like him to answer if the Tesla Wall Connector will work with the Model 3. I want to assume that it will work with it, but at the same time i dont want to buy it and find out later that they have a separate unit that they are recommending for the 3. My goal is to set up my charging station in the garage before the year is over so that i can take advantage of the tax credit. I e-mailed Tesla but i got a somewhat expected reply:

"Unfortunately, the charging system of the Model 3 has not been released, so I am unable to confirm any of those details at this time."

If anyone has any information or input on the matter or if they could send a tweet at Musk, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks
Can you even get tax credit for an EVSE without an electric vehicle? You didn't state whether you currently have one. From what I've read most people won't even qualify for that credit.

Wouldn't make sense for Tesla to change how their L2 charging works. On the other hand, do you need to have an HPWC installed since the Model 3 will certainly have the UMC which is all you need to charge your car assuming you have the right 240V outlet.
 
Can you even get tax credit for an EVSE without an electric vehicle? You didn't state whether you currently have one. From what I've read most people won't even qualify for that credit.

I didn't see anything on the tax form where you have to indicate that you own a EV... And not everyone that owns an EV would have qualified for the EV credit, so unless they audit you they would have no way of knowing. (And like I said I didn't see anything about having to own an EV. After all a business can get the credit for putting a charging station in for other people to use. Just make sure to list it on plugshare. ;))
 
Can you even get tax credit for an EVSE without an electric vehicle? You didn't state whether you currently have one. From what I've read most people won't even qualify for that credit.
I can confirm that I did successfully claim the credit w/o an electric vehicle -- in addition to what MP3Mike said, consider when a person installs an EVSE in December of tax year X but takes delivery of their EV in January (or, in my case, March) of tax year X+1.

As for what you've read about what most people can or can't qualify for -- it just depends on your personal situation. Doesn't matter what "most people" can do, it only matters what you can claim on your return. Probably if you expect to pay AMT you're not going to benefit from it. Otherwise, you probably are. (I am not a tax or any other kind of accountant.)
 
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But back to my main point, I definitely do not believe that Tesla's removal of the HPWC from the car ordering page represents a shift in policy with respect to what Tesla recommends with respect to charging.
I can't say whether it's company policy, but when I ordered my car in October of 2014 my sales guy tried pretty hard to downsell me off of the dual chargers. I got them anyway and have never used them in anger, but it still makes me feel happy to know that I could if I needed to.

It was unique in my experience to have a car salesman trying to talk me out of buying options.
 
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Unless your needs are kind of unusual you won't be yanking it out of the wall every day. The experience of almost every S owner I've seen comment is that they worry about this before delivery (I did) but after delivery they find they almost never use the UMC other than in the comfort of their own garage. That has been my own experience in a year of ownership -- I do pull the UMC off the wall and take it with me on road trips. So far I've used it on a road trip exactly once, and that time it was optional, I could have done without. Remember that you can charge at a public J1772 station without the UMC, all you need is the little adapter. And remember you can always buy a second UMC later if you find you want it after driving your car for a month or two.

Also, note that you can get the EVSE tax benefit for installing a NEMA 14-50. (But free tax advice on the Internet is no substitute for an actual accountant's input or running the numbers yourself!)

Agree with the above, and will add 1 additional comment. Even though I do not unplug my UMC all that often to take it with me, I was concerned about the durability/longevity of my NEMA 14-50R receptacle with repeated removal/insertion cycles. I bought a 2nd UMC NEMA 14-50 adapter. I leave 1 in the receptacle and 1 in the black mesh bag. When I disconnect, I do so at the adapter. Quick and easy. If for some reason the adapter fails, easy to fix. The NEMA 14-50R would require my electrician to come out. YMMV.
 
Can you even get tax credit for an EVSE without an electric vehicle? You didn't state whether you currently have one. From what I've read most people won't even qualify for that credit.

Wouldn't make sense for Tesla to change how their L2 charging works. On the other hand, do you need to have an HPWC installed since the Model 3 will certainly have the UMC which is all you need to charge your car assuming you have the right 240V outlet.
Yes, you can get a credit for any alternative fuel station. I believe it is $600 max. You don't have to have a EV. I did my HPWC in 2015 and entered it for 2015 tax return. My EV credit will be on 2016 tax return.
 
I'm going to give the wireless charger a try. I've already put down my $240 that will save me approx. $1K on the purchase price. This would work great with - auto parking.

Meet the Plugless Level 2 wireless EV charging station

Tesla needs to get on creating a wireless charging option to compete

Does it work with Tesla? According to website, only leaf, volt and Cadillac EV.

They recently announced a version for the rear wheel drive Model S, with a version for the AWD Model S coming later this summer.

That's great to know. Will keep an eye out for the plug less option.

I just want to point out, for anyone casually looking into wireless charging, that one major downside is inefficiency. In a nutshell you wind up paying for a lot of electricity that never makes it into the battery pack. This isn't a big deal when you're talking about charging your cell phone, (and where I understand the losses are smaller because the phone can rest on the pad), but when you are talking about charging one of our cars' traction packs, the efficiency losses can really add up.

Just something to be aware of, and perhaps research a bit. That's all.
 
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