Why are the dual chargers only 72A instead of 80A?

[MITE46]

At first I thought it was just a Model X dual charger limitation of 72A, but now the facelift model S are also limited to 72A? Any one know why they would design a single charger 40A and then the 2nd charger to only be +32A more? Any one have a good explanation for this?

Thx!

 

[DrComputer]

It's not really a dual charger anymore. It's a single charger capable of 72A and it's software limited to 48A unless you pay for the upgrade.

 

[NovemberXray]

Long discussion here: Model X has single 72A charger

 

[MITE46]

ahh okay makes sense...They should just enable 72A for everyone....Especially if they are trying to push destination charging at hotels where there is a queue of cars waiting for HPWCs...

 

[supratachophobia]

ahh okay makes sense...They should just enable 72A for everyone....Especially if they are trying to push destination charging at hotels where there is a queue of cars waiting for HPWCs...

Higher amperage creates a lower MTBF and potentially greater amounts of warranty repairs. Just a thought.

 

[rypalmer]

It's a single charger capable of 72A and it's software limited to 48A unless you pay for the upgrade.

That is not entirely accurate. It is a single charger, but it was a software unlock only for a small number of deliveries. There's been some speculation as to why, but the bottom line now is that it's a part change for most cars built since the single/dual charger retirement.

 

[ecarfan]

After reading all the TMC threads about the change from max 80A to max 72A, I am still not confident I understand why Tesla made that change.

I have the 80A charger option on my S and am glad I got it. My next Tesla will have the 72A option and in reality it won't make much difference.

 

[andrewket]

It's not really a dual charger anymore. It's a single charger capable of 72A and it's software limited to 48A unless you pay for the upgrade.

Not completely accurate. There is space for one charger. That charger can either have 2x24A inverters (48A) or 3x24A (72A). Model X's produced before mid Feb got the 72A capable charger and were software limited if the customer didn't pay for it. These can be upgraded post purchase with a config change. X's built after mid Feb and all refresh S's are hardware limited and require a hardware swap to upgrade. I posted the part numbers for the two chargers in a different post. I don't have them with me at the moment. Search and you shall find.

Edit: rypalmer beat me to it. Oops.

 

[andrewket]

After reading all the TMC threads about the change from max 80A to max 72A, I am still not confident I understand why Tesla made that change.

I have the 80A charger option on my S and am glad I got it. My next Tesla will have the 72A option and in reality it won't make much difference.

Cost savings. A single design that can be used across all markets and vehicles. The X probably only has room for a singer charger. With different firmware the 3x24 can be used with three phase power.

I would have preferred that Tesla kept the 3x24 standard, as this would help contention at destination chargers where 80A is made available. It sucks getting "stuck" behind another EV that can't charge as fast as you when the EVSE is capable of delivering more.