Supercharging an American Tesla in Europe

[sublimejackman]

There is a good chance that I will be moving to Germany in next year. I couldn't imagine anything better than driving my M3 all over the entire continent. How many people get that opportunity! Knowing that European made Teslas have a different plug, would it be possible to get/make an adapter for European SC that would work with my NA Tesla?

 

[Ofarlig]

Nope, you won’t have any cell service either and would have to use a wifi hotspot all the time. Not sure if the nav works either, and from what I heard Tesla won’t touch your car for repairs. Generally it is a much better deal to sell your car in the states and buy a new one over here.

 

[widodh]

Just don't. You are also lacking the 3-phase AC charging which is the standard in Europe.

Sell your US one and buy a EU version for in Europe. That's probably the best solution.

 

[holmgang]

100 times people ask about exporting cars across the ocean and 99.7 instances we tell them its a bad idea

 

[sublimejackman]

Damn. Okay. Have to do my research if we actually end up moving. Thanks for the info!

 

[Candleflame]

There is a good chance that I will be moving to Germany in next year. I couldn't imagine anything better than driving my M3 all over the entire continent. How many people get that opportunity! Knowing that European made Teslas have a different plug, would it be possible to get/make an adapter for European SC that would work with my NA Tesla?

you wont have 3 phase. Supercharging is apparently possible with a Tesla to CCS adapter someone in Austria makes (nextmove bought one there). You wont have 4g/3g. You wont have maps (tesla for some reason refuses to patch the european maps, they have done it in the past for armed forced on the model s...). You will need to tear your tint off. You will need to replace the red indicator lights with proper indicator lights. You will have to pay to ship it over. Your vehicle looses all its resale value.

It's usually cheaper to buy a second hand model in Europe, even if more expensive.

The biggest barrier is of course Tesla, they technically have the ability to easily retrofit CCS and different taillights and maps but refuse to offer this service.

 

[CurtisVL]

As much as people are talking about 3 phase, do remember that the large majority of EU housing isn't 3 phase! It can sometimes be installed after, but it doesn't come with new housing as it's usually not needed.

I don't see a clear reason why the Tesla mobile charger wouldn't work, you can check the labels on it but it should handle higher voltage fine. After all you have 240v outlets also for some appliances.

Though... I do agree with the other comments! You'd be better just buying an EU model. On an imported car you can have the US style indicators I believe, but you'll confuse everyone around you who won't realise you're indicating, you also miss out on the ease of having CCS2, as the very large majority of EU charging uses the same connector, we don't need adapters for anything anymore in my experience.
As noted, you can't have window tint like yours here, and you'll also miss out on some EU model features like the ultrasonic alarm.

I've debated taking my car to the US, but run into the same issues really! It's a shame the same standards aren't used everywhere. I can drive anywhere in all EU countries, but can't go across the ocean.

 

[Candleflame]

As much as people are talking about 3 phase, do remember that the large majority of EU housing isn't 3 phase! It can sometimes be installed after, but it doesn't come with new housing as it's usually not needed.

I don't see a clear reason why the Tesla mobile charger wouldn't work, you can check the labels on it but it should handle higher voltage fine. After all you have 240v outlets also for some appliances.

Though... I do agree with the other comments! You'd be better just buying an EU model. On an imported car you can have the US style indicators I believe, but you'll confuse everyone around you who won't realise you're indicating, you also miss out on the ease of having CCS2, as the very large majority of EU charging uses the same connector, we don't need adapters for anything anymore in my experience.
As noted, you can't have window tint like yours here, and you'll also miss out on some EU model features like the ultrasonic alarm.

I've debated taking my car to the US, but run into the same issues really! It's a shame the same standards aren't used everywhere. I can drive anywhere in all EU countries, but can't go across the ocean.

3 phase isnt needed at home at all (one can argue that a home charger for most people isnt really needed, you can just draw 16A x 230V = 3.6kw from the wall which for most peoples driving needs is more than enough over night). it will just limit you at destination chargers, camping grounds etc.

Here in northern Aus we run on 240V and thats the difference between pulling 12kw while shopping or 4kw shopping from a menneckes while you go shopping.

 

[CurtisVL]

3 phase isnt needed at home at all (one can argue that a home charger for most people isnt really needed, you can just draw 16A x 230V = 3.6kw from the wall which for most peoples driving needs is more than enough over night). it will just limit you at destination chargers, camping grounds etc.

Here in northern Aus we run on 240V and thats the difference between pulling 12kw while shopping or 4kw shopping from a menneckes while you go shopping.

Ahhh, that's a good point! I totally forgot about AC charging at actual chargers, at least here in the UK, you're never really charge at anything but a Supercharger as they're so common.

I think we can get 22kw max out of AC, limited by the onboard charger in the Model 3.

 

[Candleflame]

Ahhh, that's a good point! I totally forgot about AC charging at actual chargers, at least here in the UK, you're never really charge at anything but a Supercharger as they're so common.

I think we can get 22kw max out of AC, limited by the onboard charger in the Model 3.

Not sure why you would charge at a supercharger. They degenerate the battery and are meant for long distance travel and it costs money to use them.

Max AC is 16A x 3 phases (11kw) or 32A via single phase (rumour has it 36A single phase also works but doesnt really exist in europe)

 

[CurtisVL]

Not sure why you would charge at a supercharger. They degenerate the battery and are meant for long distance travel and it costs money to use them.

Max AC is 16A x 3 phases (11kw) or 32A via single phase (rumour has it 36A single phase also works but doesnt really exist in europe)

Sorry, worded it wrong, I mean outside of home charging I only use Superchargers. Charging at stores is usually impractical as you gain so little charge in the maybe 30 minutes you're in a store for.

I run down to 20% and charge back to 90% at home to avoid too much degradation.

 

[Nickage87]

As for cellular connectivity you will have to replace sim card or even the modem if the country will not support USA frequencies.

 

[MovedOn121]

My question is, are you coming under SOFA status? If not under SOFA, charging will be the least of your issues.

I have had my US Spec 3 here in Germany for almost 2 years, no issues. I use a 3rd party adapter for supercharging and have done several 500+ mile road trips. You can get adapters for the UMC to charge at home and that's enough to get around 15-20% per night. If you are coming under SOFA with the military, then you have to consider the other factors of how much you'd lose if you were to resell and what not. I would have lost too much so I brought mine with me and I am 100% glad I did. I can live without LTE (hot spot all the time) and Nav (ABRP, Google maps on my phone.)

 

[Candleflame]

Sorry, worded it wrong, I mean outside of home charging I only use Superchargers. Charging at stores is usually impractical as you gain so little charge in the maybe 30 minutes you're in a store for.

I run down to 20% and charge back to 90% at home to avoid too much degradation.

you cna charge while going for dinner in town, cinema, big shop etc.

 

[sublimejackman]

My question is, are you coming under SOFA status? If not under SOFA, charging will be the least of your issues.

I have had my US Spec 3 here in Germany for almost 2 years, no issues. I use a 3rd party adapter for supercharging and have done several 500+ mile road trips. You can get adapters for the UMC to charge at home and that's enough to get around 15-20% per night. If you are coming under SOFA with the military, then you have to consider the other factors of how much you'd lose if you were to resell and what not. I would have lost too much so I brought mine with me and I am 100% glad I did. I can live without LTE (hot spot all the time) and Nav (ABRP, Google maps on my phone.)

No. I would be moving there for personal reasons.

It seems like the main hangups are lack of map support outside of NA and changing the tail lights to make it road legal. I'm sure I could live with having a hotspot just plugged into the USB at all times.

Good news is the timing of the move would be at least 6-12 months from now. Giving me time to figure this stuff out.

Thanks for the input.

 

[erhanercan]

Have you figured out what to do? In the same boat here, planning to take my 4 month old Model Y in June 2021 but it doesn't look good after extensive research

 

[Perscitus]

It's never a good idea - in either direction (North America to Europe or Europe to North America).

Even so-called 'global' model cars from various manufacturers have many minor to major differences in regionally offered units. And the support machine is not equipped to handle non-regional models either.

If the car doesn't fit the form, pull up in an archaic database search - it does not exist, cannot be repaired, serviced, have any kind of warranty coverage, etc.

 

[RayK]

Have you figured out what to do? In the same boat here, planning to take my 4 month old Model Y in June 2021 but it doesn't look good after extensive research

OP apparently hasn't checked in here since Nov. 1, 2020 so you may be waiting for some time for an answer.

 

[erhanercan]

Thanks guys! I pretty much know the answer but misery needs company
I have checked with Tesla dealership in the Netherlands and here among others, noone recommends it.
My biggest gripe is that when I was buying the car, I had specifically asked about this to the salespeople and they led me to believe that it would be OK! Live and learn - should have done my due diligence more thoroughly but the prospect of driving one of these babies was too overwhelming, I guess.
Cheers

 

[MODEL+]

Like others have mentioned here. It's wiser to sell your Model 3 and buy another one in Europe when you move there. Unless you just like dealing with hassles... lol