Tesla V4 Superchargers: Power, Design and Cable Length Revealed

By Kevin Armstrong
Tesla's V4 Superchargers are capable of speeds up to 600kW
Tesla's V4 Superchargers are capable of speeds up to 600kW
@EstherKokkelman (Edited by Not a Tesla App)

Tesla has opened the first V4 Superchargers, which appear to have the potential to be twice as powerful as the model it replaces. The world is starting to learn more about this newest addition to Tesla's portfolio of DC fast-charging stations. Tesla started constructing its first fourth-generation Superchargers in the Netherlands earlier this month and officially opened them up to the public on March 15th.

Further details regarding the Supercharger V4's capabilities are now available courtesy of a recent peek at the new charging station by nearby Tesla owners. According to the charger's electric car specifications, it has a maximum power output of 600 kW and a maximum current of 615A at 1,000V.

This is the potential maximum for the new Supercharger V4, even if the highest-rated power is rarely maintained. The current restriction is at the level of the vehicle, as most, or potentially all Teslas today cannot manage to be charged at those levels.

This development might provide a glimpse into Tesla's upcoming electric vehicle ambitions. At Tesla's Semi delivery event, Tesla revealed that the Tesla Semi and Cybertruck would be the vehicles that would be able to take full advantage of Tesla's upcoming V4 Superchargers.

Longer Cables and Lights in V4 Superchargers

Although V4 Superchargers feature a simpler design, the TESLA lettering on the new Superchargers does light up to make the Superchargers easier to spot.

The cables at V4 Superchargers are also significantly longer than in previous generations. Tesla's previous Superchargers included fairly short cables that are about 6.5 feet (2m) long, but for V4 they've extended the length of the cables to almost 10 feet (3m) to make it easier to charge various types of vehicles.

During Investor Day, Tesla confirmed increasing manufacturing in preparation for a swift rollout. The new charger is projected to offer a higher charge rate than the Supercharger V3's existing 250 kW ceiling for existing vehicles. They will also likely have a solution for CCS charging compatibility for electric vehicles not made by Tesla, by having a built-in Magic Dock in the U.S.

Tesla Adds Smoother FSD Visualizations by Fixing Four-Year-Old Bug [VIDEO]

By Karan Singh
DirtyTesla

Tesla has greatly improved the smoothness of FSD visualizations in FSD V12.5.6 by fixing a 4-year-old bug. The fact that Tesla knew about this bug suggests it may have been difficult or time-consuming to fix, and they preferred to dedicate resources toward new features, but now that it’s fixed, users with FSD 12.5.6 are reporting much smoother visualizations.

Bug Fix

While not detailed, this bug that plagued the rendering pipeline had been an issue in Tesla AI’s backside for four years, according to Ashok Elluswamy, the head of Autopilot and AI at Tesla. Funnily enough, Andrej Karpathy, the previous Director of AI at Tesla, replied, “omg.”

It sounds like Andrej knew about the bug in the rendering pipeline during his Tesla days but was also unable to fix it, likely due to other priorities. We’re glad to see Tesla is going back and working on squeezing the most performance from its hardware—in any capacity.

Smoother Visualizations Video

The updated visualizations are considerably smoother after the bug fix. What’s immediately noticeable is less jitter in vehicles around you and vehicles starting to show up from further away. This is a fantastic update, as it helps to provide better information for the supervising driver about what FSD sees around the vehicle.

We’re looking forward to what else Tesla can do to optimize and make its visualizations look even better. In the meantime, check out these two videos below that include the improved FSD visualizations.

FSD 12.5.6

We first noticed FSD 12.5.6 on update 2024.32.30 on October 8th, right before the Robotaxi event. FSD 12.5.6 is more than just bug fixes; it includes major changes such as new FSD profiles, improved lane changes, and changes to Auto Set Speed. However, it's still only available for early-access customers. While Tesla’s AI team was likely focused on the event and has now earned a well-deserved rest, it appears that this FSD release may see another revision before it is expanded to regular customers.

Update 2024.32.30

FSD Supervised 12.5.6
Installed on 0% of fleet
0 Installs today
Last updated: Oct 15, 5:00 am UTC

Tesla’s Robovan – Everything We Know After We, Robot

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla brought out something not many expected at its Robotaxi event—the Robovan. It’s a fairly large vehicle, and just like the Cybercab, it's fully autonomous: there is no driver’s seat, steering wheel, or pedals.

In its default configuration, the Robovan can seat up to 20 passengers, and Tesla has already envisioned multiple other uses for it, including package delivery, RVing, and others.

So, get your futuristic bus pass ready, and let’s take a ride to see what the Robovan is bringing!

Exterior

The Robovan takes Art Deco – the classic 1950’s style, to the future. It's a spectacular showcase vehicle and doesn’t look like anything you would ever expect to be pulling up to the curb to pick people up. The Robovan looks almost like a train or tram engine and has a sleek front with no visible windshield, and the wheels are tucked underneath the body, where you can’t see them.

It’s a painted aluminum shell, just like the Cybercab, but also mixed with glass. The glass is tinted dark from the exterior – so you can’t really see inside, affording a fairly high level of privacy to those in the vehicle.

One of the most interesting things about the Robovan is its super low ground clearance. It looked like it was floating mere inches off the ground when it pulled up at, We, Robot. According to Elon Musk, this super-low clearance is achieved by having an automatic load-levelling suspension that raises and lowers based on road conditions.

This means that the Robovan will be able to traverse obstacles such as speedbumps and potholes – and that this feature is likely to make its way to FSD sometime in the future. While FSD can already (mostly) correctly identify speedbumps, it cannot identify other obstacles on the road, such as debris or potholes. Having FSD be able to identify and avoid potholes to smoothen the ride would help to improve the comfort of the experience.

The Art-Deco aesthetic is back!
The Art-Deco aesthetic is back!
Not a Tesla App

Interior

The interior is quite spacious – it's able to seat up to 20 passengers in its maximum configuration. In a bus or passenger van format, the Robovan could easily be used to replace short-route buses or, with increased frequency – compete against a full-size 40-seat bus.

Tesla also intends for the Robovan to be used in a delivery capability, as it will be available to order in a format without any seating, which provides a fairly spacious interior for package handling on last-mile and local routes. It could conceivably be a competent competitor to large vans once FSD can reach a fully autonomous state.

Beyond that, Tesla also sees the Robovan being fitted for things such as Tesla Service, RVing, or any other use for vehicles with large interior spaces. There’s a lot of open space on the interior, so we’re looking forward to seeing what ideas people come up with. Maybe a mobile diner?

As per Elon, it is very easy to see out of the Robovan, as the dark windows seem to be one-way tints. Some interior videos, like the one below, also show just how much visibility is afforded to passengers. And those big glass doors? They slide open. It seems that the Robovan has the same set of doors on both sides, but all the pictures showing it off have it only opening on the street side (right side), with right-hand-drive here in North America.

Back to the passenger configuration – the interior showed off was in a clean and classic Tesla white, with lots of interior lighting and HVAC on the interior ceiling. There is a bench seat at either end of the cabin, and then a pair and single seat with an aisle dividing them. The configuration shown was symmetrical and only seated 14.

The van also features a large screen at either end of the cabin, which could be used for entertainment or route information. Tesla didn’t provide any detail on these displays, but they appear fairly large.

The interior of the Robovan.
The interior of the Robovan.
Not a Tesla App

Storage

Beyond the delivery capacity, the Cybervan also has storage at the rear and front – both fascia plates slide upwards to expose additional storage room – essentially a bus-sized frunk and trunk.

The frunk, oddly enough, looks like it has far more capacity than the trunk in this case – with about 10 suitcases in the open frunk, while the open trunk only looks like it has capacity for 2 suitcases.

The frunk storage. Very spacious!
The frunk storage. Very spacious!
Not a Tesla App
The trunk storage. It seems oddly small.
The trunk storage. It seems oddly small.
Not a Tesla App

Release Date

There’s no date or pricing for the Robovan just yet. While it hails back to the 1950’s, it may be further out in the future than Tesla made it seem. Tesla didn’t share a price point or time frame for when the van would become available.

Oh, and Elon mentioned that it's called the ruh-BO-vahn. Like Suburban, but Robovan. We’d love to see what everyone thinks about its name. Let us know how you think it's pronounced.

Latest Tesla Update

Confirmed by Elon

Take a look at features that Elon Musk has said will be coming soon.

More Tesla News

Tesla Videos

Latest Tesla Update

Confirmed by Elon

Take a look at features that Elon Musk has said will be coming soon.

Subscribe

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter