Tesla Releases Teaser Video for Wireless Charging of Cybercab

Tesla released a teaser video Friday showing what wireless charging of the company’s electrical vehicles mightiness look similar successful the future. But if you’re hoping for elaborate info astir what that infrastructure volition entail 1 day, you’re retired of luck.

When Elon Musk unveiled his long-awaited Cybercab last week, the Tesla CEO mentioned the robotaxi wouldn’t request to beryllium plugged successful to complaint its battery.

“Something we’re besides doing is, and it’s truly precocious clip we did this, is inductive charging,” Musk said connected Oct. 10. “So, the robotaxi has nary plug. It conscionable goes implicit the inductive charger and charges. So, yeah. It’s benignant of however it should be.”

But that was each helium said astir wireless charging. There were nary details astir however it would enactment oregon however acold on Tesla had precocious technologically successful bid to bring this committedness to life. But connected Friday, Tesla released a 14-second conception video connected X that purported to amusement what the Cybercab would look similar portion charging.

Robotaxi wireless charging

No hands required pic.twitter.com/XL746DkGhb

— Tesla (@Tesla) October 18, 2024

People online raised a batch of questions astir what they were seeing successful the video, including whether the complaint time—which displays aboriginal successful the video arsenic 56 minutes remaining—means what we’re seeing is simply a complaint to 100% artillery beingness oregon 80%, the maximum allowed astatine Tesla Superchargers for a accelerated complaint astatine 250kW.

We tin spot the archetypal afloat surface successful the conception video, which displays a 35% complaint utilizing 25 kW…

© Tesla / X

…but erstwhile we’re shown the afloat charged screen, it zooms successful to lone amusement the remaining time. But viewers can’t spot if that’s afloat charged.

© Tesla / X

This obfuscation whitethorn beryllium intentional, of course. Musk often releases teasers for exertion that hasn’t adjacent been worked connected yet. Remember erstwhile the billionaire announced his robot task successful 2021 and it was conscionable a idiosyncratic dancing successful a robot suit?

There’s besides the question of ratio with wireless charging, since induction tin beryllium overmuch little efficient. As 1 electrical technologist joked connected X, this benignant of charging successful an enclosed store could beryllium creating a “space heater with other steps,” fixed however overmuch vigor could beryllium wasted.

Tesla has seemingly teased wireless charging before, similar erstwhile an unexplained location charger appeared to beryllium wireless during a presentation successful 2023. But the institution didn’t really code the representation and what looked similar an inductive charging portion straight and it was lone aboriginal that Tesla’s main decorator Franz von Holzhausen confirmed wireless charging was coming without giving much details.

The Cybercab itself inactive faces a fig of hurdles earlier it tin go a reality. And Musk says merchandise of the merchandise is inactive 2-3 years away, thing that’s astir apt mode excessively optimistic fixed each the challenges Tesla faces—not slightest of which are the regulatory approvals from section governments. That’s astir apt wherefore Musk held his objection astatine Warner Bros. studios successful Burbank, California, alternatively than connected existent streets. They were capable to show what driverless cars look similar without really operating connected existent California roadways, each acknowledgment to movie magic. Competitors similar Waymo person gotten support to run driverless taxis successful California, whereas Tesla hasn’t adjacent started the process.

Wireless charging for electrical vehicles is already being done by companies similar WiTricity, which has a aviator programme successful Massachusetts and California with Ford’s electrical vans. Historically, the thought for however to physique induction charging for crushed proscription has progressive laying the infrastructure into the roadworthy itself, charging the car portion you drive. A agelong of roadworthy successful Detroit adjacent got an experimental mentation of that in 2023. But determination are inactive large ratio issues with wireless car charging that marque it little than perfect astatine this constituent successful the game. And we don’t adjacent cognize the details for specs yet.

Like each things Musk, we request to instrumentality this video with a large atom of salt. It looks cool, but it’s small much than a conception video astatine this point. And fixed the stunts Musk has been pulling to marque his Optimus robots look overmuch much precocious than they truly are, the billionaires claims necessitate a batch much impervious earlier we tin marque a telephone connected whether wireless charging for Tesla vehicles, fto unsocial the Cybercab itself, is conscionable astir the corner.