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Since Tesla have chosen the proprietary route they are going to have to execute the rollout of their own chargers amazingly well. In the Roadster period this has been piecemeal at best. In the UK without David Peilow, Kevin Sharpe and me it just wouldn't have happened. Hopefully they will hire [someone like] David to drive European fast charge network in a systematic and structured way with full rollout ahead of need. Then (and only then) we could somewhat relax about the likelihood that Model S is frozen out of substantial pieces of the public fast-charge infrastructure.
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tomsax
Member
Hi Dave! Thanks for the shout out. Who was the Tesla guy? Was he totally making things up? Tesla requested the proximity pin? In what universe? The Menekes connector uses the same pilot signal as J1772. Tesla handles charging without a pilot by connecting the pilot pin to ground and assuming whatever the local base-level current limit is. You don't need a separate switch for that! If the proximity switch was Tesla's idea, why don't they support it with their adapter?
tomsax
Member
Is Tesla going to provide a way for Roadster owners to convert to the Model S connector? Or perhaps another $750 adapter we have to stuff into the trunk hope no one will steal it while we're charging?
They had one of the engineers who works on the chargers in the VIP tent. It doesn't sound like they are planning on converting Roadsters to new plug but he didn't know for sure. It's definitely something they should do.
The new plug is simply amazing. Smaller cable, great industrial design, hefty yet lightweight feel. About the size of my electric razor and heft like it was full of batteries (it is not). Great feel for men and women. The J connector feels massive and cheapy plasitc compared to this beauty.
Button on top for sending Rf signal to open the charge port door (pretty sure) and button also releases the connector from the car.
Contacts are silver.
Was told the adapter to J connector is small. Like half a soda can size. It will also latch to car so it can't be removed.
Sounds like they are more open to converting Roadsters to this new connector skipping the Roadster J option. I am for this though it would be nice if the J adaptor could live in the car if I wanted.
Button on top for sending Rf signal to open the charge port door (pretty sure) and button also releases the connector from the car.
Contacts are silver.
Was told the adapter to J connector is small. Like half a soda can size. It will also latch to car so it can't be removed.
Sounds like they are more open to converting Roadsters to this new connector skipping the Roadster J option. I am for this though it would be nice if the J adaptor could live in the car if I wanted.
W.Petefish
Active Member
They seem to be thinking about a retrofit kit that would be installed by a ranger or the service center.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
NigelM
Recovering Member
Agree! My wife complains about the heavy cable on the Roadster. Here's a pic that I took last night and a similar one of my hand to give you size reference:
The button is for lock/release. There is a proximity detector which opens the chargeport door when you approach with the chargeplug, alternatively you can open it from the dash. I asked about charging with an adapter (e.g. at a J1772 charge station) and was told "remember to open the chargeport door before you get out of the car".
I was also told there will most likely be a Models-->Roadster adapter but not the other way around; the Roadster plug is "too big and heavy" to be hanging on the side of the Model S.
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Hmm, so where does that leave CHAdeMO ? The Roadster plug is really small compared to that thing...
I thought I heard him say you had to push the button to release the door. Not a big deal to argue about. Though, it kinda makes sense if you don't want the door to be opening everytime you are winding up the cable near the tailight.
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tomsax
Member
It sounds like a great connector. The question is can they either (a) make it an open, industry standard widely adopted by other automakers or (b) build and maintain their own international charging infrastructure capable of supporting a successful line of mass-market electric vehicles?
It's easy to talk about installing QC stations, but another matter entirely getting them in the ground. Just ask the ECOtality folks about how difficult it is to give stations away. Maybe part of ECOtality's problem is their business model (where site owners have pay a significant network service fee and have little or no control over pricing), but that just makes me wonder what Tesla's business model will be. Will Model S owners have to pay a monthly subscription fee to use the QC stations? How else do you build a credible business model around expensive stations that sell a cheap, universally available commodity and are only rarely needed?
When will they get UL approval for this new connector and their corresponding stations? They didn't get UL approval for the HPC until they had been delivering Roadsters for over two years. I don't think they will get away with that again.
Will there be a reasonably-priced conversion path for Roadster owners? If not, will they also abandon the Model S owners when the next, cheaper, higher production car comes out?
How do they propose to compete against electric vehicles which have convenient, native access to pervasive charging infrastructure built on equipment produced by a large number of vendors forced by competition to offer low-priced, high-quality stations?
What happens to Tesla's proprietary strategy when Nissan comes out with an all-electric Infinity sedan that competes head-to-head with the new car from that wacky little car company in California?
Doing their own thing with a seemingly superior connector is a bold move. I expect Tesla will continue to show the world how to build an awesome electric vehicle, and creating a great connector could be a big win for leadership, but taking on yet another proprietary charging standard adds to the number of barriers to their eventual success in the marketplace.
It is designed quite nicely. It's what the Yazaki J-connector shouldhave been. But if they were going to design their own connector, I think they should have made it three-phase capable so that it could be a world connector. Only needs two more pins.
They probably could have (and I think they should have) just made a modified version of the Mennekes type-2 connector (adding body colored paint, the RFID thumb switch, upping the power capability, etc) that would still be compatible with the existing standard.
If you ask me this new Tesla plug looks inspired by Mennekes anyway. Similar basic shape, similar locking mechanism, just missing L3 and neutral.
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