Musk dispelled concerns that customers who opt not to purchase the heavy-duty home charger would be stuck with the measly 32-hour mobile charger. He said the standard charger will be a 220V “overnight” device capable of filling the batteries in 8 hours.
As previously noted, the 220V 70A unit, capable of charging the batteries in 3.5 hours, is now a $3,000 option. When asked by a customer why the device is so expensive, Musk said it is “very low production volume and ridiculously expensive.” He went on to say Tesla will “work to reduce that.”
He said Tesla is considering offering a faster charger later this year that would be capable of juicing up the batteries in 45 minutes. It would require 440 volts at roughly 160 amps — a power level exceeding what a typical home electrical connecting is capable of offering. A 45 minute charge is the fastest the current batteries will allow. (Some battery firms are said to be producing cells capable of 10 minute charges, but Tesla has yet to say whether it plans to start using such batteries.)