Thoughts on the "World's First Tesla extension cord"?

[Stavesacre21]

Owned a model X 2 years ago and sold it last year. Taking delivery of a 2019 P3D- on Wednesday. Started looking around for supplies to make another 240V extension cord (yeah yeah, I know...tisk tisk). Never know when you're gonna need it!

Anyhow, when I googled Tesla extension cord, something peculiar came up. Apparently a company called QC Charge is making a dedicated Tesla extension cable. Obviously still not approved by Tesla, but it looks pretty real-deal. They even use the term "founders edition" which insinuates Tesla ties. However, $200 for a 20' and $300 for a 40' seems pretty pricey to me.

Anyone else heard of this yet? Thoughts?

Figured it would be all over the forums but haven't heard a peep from any forums about it yet.

Tesla ELONG™ Tesla Extension Cable

 

[Lloyd]

Someone is going to try and supercharge with it and burn the thing up!

 

[mongo]

Gee, no trademark infringement there...

 

[ewoodrick]

When I don't see a current rating listed, I have to question the design. That's a mighty thin looking cable.

 

[Stavesacre21]

When I don't see a current rating listed, I have to question the design. That's a mighty thin looking cable.

The lack of details on the cable did seem slightly discerning to me as well.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the cable thickness, as the cable off the UMC isn't a whole lot thinner itself. If the cable is made right (which for that price, I'm assuming it is), there's nothing wrong with a thinner diameter.

 

[Zoomit]

I’ve been using a 50’ J1772 ELONG for a year at 24A without any issues.

@TonyWilliams What will happen when someone hooks the Tesla ELONG up to a Supercharger?

 

[artsci]

I've owned a Model S since 2013 and a 3 for 6 months, and I can't think of a single circumstance when I needed a 240v extension cord of this kind or any other. I can't imagine there will be a market for this thing.

 

[wycolo]

> Someone is going to try and supercharge with it and burn the thing up! [Lloyd]

That would be a cosmic just dessert but, to allay fears I hope the car would refuse to connect similar to having crud on the contacts etc.
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[SomeJoe7777]

This cable is highly dangerous. Used with the mobile charger it will probably work fine. Used with a HPWC it's a hazard because there's no way it's rated for more than about 40A. It will instantaneously cause a fire, vehicle damage, and charger/cable damage if someone tries to supercharge with it.

Run away. Run far away.

 

[mswlogo]

> Someone is going to try and supercharge with it and burn the thing up! [Lloyd]

That would be a cosmic just dessert but, to allay fears I hope the car would refuse to connect similar to having crud on the contacts etc.
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It would probably fry on a higher amp wall connector as well.

Don’t let high price or official names fool you into thinking this quality or safe.

 

[Bill Foster]

This cable is highly dangerous. Used with the mobile charger it will probably work fine. Used with a HPWC it's a hazard because there's no way it's rated for more than about 40A. It will instantaneously cause a fire, vehicle damage, and charger/cable damage if someone tries to supercharge with it.

Run away. Run far away.

Where is your proof?

 

[Lloyd]

Where is your proof?

Um... The photo of the product!

 

[Bill Foster]

Um... The photo of the product!

Ah yes, being able to tell the current carrying abilities of a product by pre production photos.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Where is your proof?

In the interest of a good concrete analysis, I will attempt to estimate the actual wire gauge that the picture implies when I get home this evening. I will have to go accurately measure the dimensions of the Tesla plug connector to do so.

More importantly, however, is that the design of the product is flawed. Inserting the extension cable between the Tesla plug and the car's socket removes the ability of the cable to match, control, or estimate the current flowing in the cable. It also removes the ability for the cable to be certified by UL, NEMA, or any other governing body because it becomes part of the appliance.

This cable can be subjected to AC power, DC power, small currents, large currents, small voltages, and large voltages because the Tesla port is a multi-function port. To be safe, the cable would have to be designed for the worst case conditions it could possibly be subjected to, which would be supercharging (400V and 500A on v3 superchargers). 500A requires a conductor that is approximately 700 kcmil in area, which is a stranded wire of approximately 1" in diameter. There would have to be two of these in the cable, resulting in an overall cable diameter of approximately 2". The wire in the picture is certainly less than 1" in diameter, probably around 3/4". 500 amps would cause it to overheat, melt the insulation, and then burn.

 

[Bill Foster]

In the interest of a good concrete analysis, I will attempt to estimate the actual wire gauge that the picture implies when I get home this evening. I will have to go accurately measure the dimensions of the Tesla plug connector to do so.

I'm just saying its a pre production photo, things change a lot in production. I highly highly doubt they would put a out a product that is going to overheat/fail on a 40 amp charge rate as thats what lots of model 3's charge at.

 

[ckoval7]

I bought a 50A 14-50 RV extension cord just in case I can't reach a 14-50 outlet with my UMC. I have yet to actually use it.

 

[Phlier]

Owned a model X 2 years ago and sold it last year. Taking delivery of a 2019 P3D- on Wednesday. Started looking around for supplies to make another 240V extension cord (yeah yeah, I know...tisk tisk). Never know when you're gonna need it!

Anyhow, when I googled Tesla extension cord, something peculiar came up. Apparently a company called QC Charge is making a dedicated Tesla extension cable. Obviously still not approved by Tesla, but it looks pretty real-deal. They even use the term "founders edition" which insinuates Tesla ties. However, $200 for a 20' and $300 for a 40' seems pretty pricey to me.

Anyone else heard of this yet? Thoughts?

Figured it would be all over the forums but haven't heard a peep from any forums about it yet.

Tesla ELONG™ Tesla Extension Cable

There are zero specs on it anywhere. That's typically not a good thing. IMO, I'd never use any extension cord (let alone one that's gonna be carrying that much current) before verifying that it is suitable for the purpose of intended use; size and type of wires, insulation, etc.

For as much money as they want, they darn well better be using the appropriate components. It's really odd that they have zero specs listed for it.

If I had the money, I'd buy one and tear it apart, then call out my favorite electrician and have him do a post mortem on it. But as it stand on their web site right now, I'd stay far far away.

 

[Rockster]

Giddy with excitement upon buying our first Tesla, we foolishly wasted $100 on a 50 amp extension cable "just in case." We haven't needed it in over six years of ownership.

 

[Blup85]

Interesting that they sell a 1772 to Tesla adapter as well. They have a 40 amp and a "80" amp version. So they seem to acknowledge the need for 80 AMP. The only use case I could see this for would be towing and charging at a Supercharger. But I would never use anything not full approved by Tesla. If Tesla did something like this, I'm sure it would automatically reduce Supercharger speeds for safety.

JDapter Stub™ Tesla Station Adapter

 

[FlatSix911]

Love the creative name... This could be a good option for Level-2 charging... what is the AWG wire gauge?