Tesla teasing Supercharger design before next week's reveal

We know a fair number of details about the upcoming high-speed charging network for Tesla vehicles. What we don't know is what the chargers will look like. This will change Monday evening.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently Tweeted that that Supercharger unveiling will make it "feel like alien spaceships landed at highway rest stops," so that give us some indication of the design. We're not sure if those vertical supports in the image above are part of the station or not, but it's the teaser image on Tesla's website now, so we think it's likely.

As for the technical aspects, here are some of the things we already know:

• A top-of-the-line 85-kWh battery pack will be able to be recharged in about an hour.
• You will be able to get around three hours of driving during a 30-minute stop, and that will get better over time.
• The capacity is "on the order of 100 kW."
• There will be solar power involved (we had heard rumors of battery swaps, too, but then that kind of died down).
• The network is intended to allow for long-distance drives and will require about 30 Superchargers to provide that capability along the U.S. continental coasts.

Musk recently told AutoblogGreen the reason for the proprietary network (other plug-in vehicles won't be able to use the special connector) was that, "the other charge systems don't have enough power and in order to really charge fast, the charger needs pretty advanced technology and it needs to exactly match the pack. It's got to be hand-in-glove."

The Supercharger will be unveiled, along with deployment plans that provide "a solution for the electric vehicle's long-distance road trip that only Model S* can achieve" on Monday, September 24, with a live webcast starting 8 p.m. PDT. You will be able to watch the event here.

*And not all Model S vehicles will be able to Supercharge, since the 40-kWh version was not designed for long trips, according to Musk.



Source: AutoBlog Green