Introduction
How Long Does It Take to Charge a Tesla? The answer varies from several minutes to several days.
A couple of things affect the charging speed, such as the type and power output of the charger, the battery’s storage capacity, the acceptance rate of the on-board charger, how full or empty the battery is, and even environmental parameters like the outside temperature, etc.
In terms of charging options, you can charge your Tesla vehicles at home using a Level 2 charger.
In some cases, your car can also be charged at 1.4 kW using the Tesla mobile connector via a regular household outlet.
However, it will not be safe charging your car and placing the maximum load on the socket for a charge-up (10% to 80%), since this charge can take up to 44 hours for Model 3, 54 hours for both Model S and Model X, 40 hours for Model Y.
But if you plug in to charge whenever you park, just like you charge your phone, the mobile connector may meet your needs.
With a battery capacity of 82 kWh (Model 3 Performance and Long Range, 2021), you can charge your Tesla from 10% to 80% of state of charge for about 5 hours and 33 minutes using Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector and only about 16 minutes through V3 Supercharging (250 kW of power) which is super fast indeed.
As you can see, the Tesla Gen 3 Wall Charger (one type of Level 2 charging station) enables you not only to charge your Tesla Model 3 safely, but also almost 8 times as quickly as using the Level 1 charger.
Tesla Model 3
As of today, the Tesla Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable and best-selling car.
The production of the Tesla Model 3 started in July 2017 and the technology and productivity have been highly enhanced.
The Tesla Model 3 (2021) has 3 different versions: Standard Range Plus, Long Range, and Performance.
The on-board charger of the Standard Range Plus was built to accept 7.6 kW of maximum AC charging power, which means that when connected to a Level 2 charger with a power rating above 7.6 kW, the Tesla Model 3 will only be capable of accepting up to 7.6 kW.
In addition, 11.5kW is the maximum power that the other two versions of Model 3 can charge at.
Depending on your driving style, the road condition, the season, air conditioning system, and seat heating, etc., the driving range of the Tesla Model 3 can reach up to 263 miles (Standard Range Plus), 315 miles (Performance), and 353 miles (Long Range).
Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S used to have a version of the on-board dual charger that can accept up to 22 kW of power.
For safety reasons, however, the double charger has been discontinued and succeeded by the standard single charger that can obtain up to 11.5 kW and the optional single charger capable of accepting 16.5 kW.
The Tesla Model S (2021) is available in three different versions: Plaid, Long Range, Plaid+.
And the on-board charger of these three versions was built to accept 11.5 kW of maximum AC charging power, which means that when connected to a Level 2 charger with a power rating above 11.5 kW, the Tesla Model S will only be capable of accepting up to 11.5 kW.
The Tesla Model S has the longest range in comparison with any other electric car on the market.
Depending on your driving style, the road condition, the season, air conditioning system, and seat heating, etc., the driving range of the Tesla Model S can reach up to 390 miles (Plaid), 412 miles (Long Range), and 520 miles (Plaid+).
Tesla Model X
The Tesla Model X (2021) has 2 different versions: Plaid, and Long Range.
The on-board charger of the Tesla Model X was built to accept 16.5 kW of maximum AC charging power as standard, which means that when connected to a Level 2 charger with a power rating above 16.5 kW, the Tesla Model X will only be capable of accepting up to 16.5 kW.
Depending on your driving style, the road condition, the season, air conditioning system, and seat heating, etc., the driving range of the Tesla Model X can reach up to 340 miles (Plaid), and 360 miles (Long Range).
Tesla Model Y
The Tesla Model Y was prepared to exist in four versions: Standard Range, Long Range RWD, Long Range AWD, and Performance, but the Standard Range version has been canceled because of its low range of 244 miles. The Long Range RWD has also been discontinued.
The Tesla Model Y (2021) has 2 different versions: Long Range AWD, and Performance.
The on-board charger of the Tesla Model Y was built to accept 11.5 kW of maximum AC charging power, which means that when connected to a Level 2 charger with a power rating above 11.5 kW, the Tesla Model X will only be capable of accepting up to 11.5 kW.
Depending on your driving style, the road condition, the season, air conditioning system, and seat heating, etc., the driving range of the Tesla Model Y can reach up to 303 miles (Performance), and 326 miles (Long Range AWD).
Types of Charging Stations for Tesla Vehicles
Charging Your Tesla at Home
Most EV drivers plug their cars in every night regardless of how full or empty it is when they come home. They do their charging most of the time at home. And the most popular options for charging a Tesla at home are:
- Tesla Mobile Connectors
- Tesla Wall Connectors
- Third-party Level 2 Chargers
1. Tesla Mobile Connectors – Every Tesla vehicle comes with a Tesla mobile charger which can be connected to any regular 110-volt household outlet. The charger with a standard NEMA 5-15 Adapter delivers up to 12 amps (15 amps x 80% = 12 amps) on a 15 amp circuit breaker; that is, the power output can be up to 1.4 kW (110 volts x 12 amps ≈ 1.4 kW).
You can purchase a NEMA 14-50 adapter, which is the most common adapter used in the country, to charge your Tesla. The mobile connector with the NEMA 14-50 adapter can offer 32 amps of maximum power on a 240-volt outlet (240 volts x 32 amps = 7.6 kW). According to the rule of 80% draw, a 240 volt / 40 amp circuit should be applied.
2. Tesla Wall Connectors –The Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector offers faster speed to charge your car at home. It can deliver up to 48 amps, so that the charging power can be up to 11.5 kW (240 volts x 48 amps /1, 000 = 11.5 kW)
3. Third-party Level 2 Chargers – A J1772 to Tesla adapter allows you to charge your Tesla on a third-party Level 2 charger.
The power of these Level 2 charging stations varies from 16 amps to 48 amps, that is, from 3.3 kW to 11.5 kW. It can take around 4 to 17 hours to charge a Tesla Model 3 from 10% to 80% of the state of charge.
Charging Your Tesla On the Road
When you take a road trip, you will need public Level 3 charging stations to charge up your car. The most popular charging options for the Tesla vehicles on the road are:
- Superchargers
- Third-Party DC Fast Chargers
1. Superchargers – There are V2 and V3 Superchargers. V2 Superchargers, the most common Superchargers around the country, have a feature of power-sharing.
The way it works is A and B stalls share a single power source and charging power is split in half between A and B when both of them are being used.
Therefore, if two cars are charging next to each other at A and B, each of these two cars can only obtain half of the charging power.
The V2 Superchargers can deliver up to 150 kW of power.
V3 Superchargers don’t share power like the V2 Superchargers. They are the latest and fastest Superchargers which are very rare around the country and the installing speed is slow. The power output of V3 Superchargers can be up to 250 kW.
2. Third-Party DC Fast Chargers – Typically, the third-party DC fast charging stations have CHAdeMO/CSS charging ports. They often offer over 50 kW of charging power.
A CHAdeMO to Tesla or CCS 1 to Tesla adapter allows you to charge your Tesla on a CHAdeMO/CSS DC fast charging station.
How Long Does It Take to Charge Each Tesla Model?
Use our electric vehicle charging time calculators to estimate each Tesla Model charge charge time. How long to charge a Tesla depends on the car model, year, version and which charger you use.
Tesla Charge Time – Examples
Let’s take Tesla Model 3 Long Range (2021) as an example to show the calculation.
NOTE: All results are calculated based on the theoretical assumptions, and may vary under different circumstances in real life.
Battery Capacity: 82 kWh | Driving Range: 353 miles (EPA) | Acceptance Rate of the On-Board Charger: 11.5 kW | Supercharging Max: 250 kW | Efficiency = Driving range / Battery capacity =353 miles / 82 kWh = 4.30 miles/kWh | The average power efficiency is 0.9 in the calculation
- Charging Station: Tesla Mobile Connector(NEMA 5-15, Charging Power = 1.32 kW)
Charging power (1.32 kW) < Acceptance rate of the on-board charger (11.5 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (1.32 kW x 0.9)
= 48 hours 19 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 1.32 kW x 0.9)
= 5 hours 52 minutes
- Range per hour of charging (RPH)
= Efficiency x Charging Time x Charging power x 0.9
= 4.30 miles/kWh x 1 h x 1.32 kW x 0.9
= 5.1 miles
- Charging Station: Tesla Mobile Connector(NEMA 14-50, Max Charging Power = 7.68 kW)
Charging power (1.4 4kW) < Acceptance rate of the on-board charger (11.5 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (7.68 kW x 0.9)
= 8 hours 19 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 7.68 kW x 0.9)
= 1 hour 1 minute
- Range per hour of charging (RPH)
= Efficiency x Charging Time x Charging power x 0.9
= 4.30 miles/kWh x 1 h x 7.68 kW x 0.9
= 29.8 miles
3. Charging Station: Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector(NEMA 14-50, Max Charging Power = 7.68 kW)
Charging power (11.52 kW) ≈ Acceptance rate of the on-board charger (11.5 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (11.5 kW x 0.9)
= 5 hours 33 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 11.5 kW x 0.9)
= 41 minutes
- Range per hour of charging (RPH)
= Efficiency x Charging Time x Charging power x 0.9
= 4.30 miles/kWh x 1 h x 11.5 kW x 0.9
= 44.6 miles
4. Charging Station: V2 Supercharger (Charging Power = 150 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (150 kW x 0.9)
= 26 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 150 kW x 0.9)
= 4 minutes
5. Charging Station: V3 Supercharger (Max Charging Power = 250 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (250 kW x 0.9)
= 16 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 250 kW x 0.9)
= 2 minutes
6. Charging Station: Third-Party DC Fast Charger(Charging Power = 50 kW)
- Charging time from 10% to 80% of charge level
= Battery capacity x (80%-10%) / (Charging power x 0.9)
= 82 kWh x (80%-10%) / (50 kW x 0.9)
= 1 hour 17 minutes
- Charging time at 30 miles of desired distance
=Desired distance / (Efficiency x Charging power x 0.9)
= 30 miles / (4.30 miles/kWh x 50 kW x 0.9)
= 10 minutes
Tesla Charge Time – Tables
1. See the time it takes to charge a Tesla from 10% to 80% of state of charge using various EV home charging stations and Level 3 chargers.
| Tesla Models | Model 3 | Model S | Model X | Model Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 5-15, 110V/12A) | 27-44 hours | 32-54 hours | 40-54 hours | 40 hours |
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 14-50, 240V/32A) | 5-8 hours | 6-10 hours | 8-10 hours | 8 hours |
| Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector (240V/48A) | 4-5 hours | 4-7 hours | 5-7 hours | 5 hours |
| V2 Supercharger (150 kW) | 16-26 minutes | 25-39 minutes | 30-39 minutes | 24 minutes |
| V3 Supercharger (250 kW) | 6-16 minutes | 19-39 minutes | 19-39 miutes | 14 minutes |
| Third-Party DC Fast Charger (50 kW) | 47 minutes-1 hour 17 minutes | 56 minutes-1 hour 34 minutes | 1 hour 11 minutes-1 hour 34 minutes | 1 hour 11 minutes |
2. See the time it takes to charge a Tesla a certain distance (30 miles) using various EV home charging stations and Level 3 chargers.
| Tesla Models | Model 3 | Model S | Model X | Model Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 5-15, 110V/12A) | 4-6 hours | 4-8 hours | 6-8 hours | 5-6 hours |
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 14-50, 240V/32A) | 51 minutes-1 hour | 51 minutes-1 hour 29 minutes | 1 hour 13 minutes-1 hour 34 minutes | 1 hour |
| Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector (240V/48A) | 41-60 minutes | 34 minutes-1 hour | 49 minutes-1 hour | 41-44 minutes |
| V2 Supercharger (150 kW) | 3-4 minutes | 3-6 minutes | 4-6minutes | 4 minutes |
| V3 Supercharger (250 kW) | 2-3 minutes | 2-6 minutes | 3-6 minutes | 2 minutes |
| Third-Party DC Fast Charger (50 kW) | 8-11 minutes | 8-14 minutes | 12-15 minutes | 10 minutes |
3. See the charging speed (the added range per hour of charging, RPH) of a Tesla using various EV home charging stations.
| Tesla models | Model 3 | Model S | Model X | Model Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 5-15, 110V/12A) | 5-6 miles | 3-6 miles | 3-4 miles | 5 miles |
| Tesla Mobile Connector (NEMA 14-50, 240V/32A) | 26-36 miles | 20-36 miles | 19-25 miles | 28-30 miles |
| Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector (240V/48A) | 30-45 miles | 30-53 miles | 29-37 miles | 42-45 miles |
Future Tesla Vehicles
Some of the specifications associated with the charging time calculation of the future Tesla vehicles haven’t been released.
But if you are curious, you can make some assumptions and use our battery charge time calculator to estimate the charge time.
Tesla Cybertruck
As the most popular electric truck around the country, the Tesla Cybertruck with 3 versions was announced in late 2019.
The production of the Dual Motor AWD and Tri Motor AWD Cybertruck was announced to begin in late 2021, with the Single Motor RWD into production in late 2022.
While we don’t know its battery capacity, the acceptance rate of the on-board charger, or the maximum supercharging power yet, we have the range: 250 miles (Single Motor RWD), 300 miles (Dual Motor AWD), and 500 miles (Tri Motor AWD).
Tesla Roadster 2022
The second-generation Tesla Roadster was announced by Elon Musk on November 16, 2017, and may be released in 2022, following the track of the first generation of Tesla Roadster (also Tesla’s first vehicle) which was launched in 2008.
As the most highly-anticipated supercar in the world, the Tesla Roadster 2022 is planned to appear with the Base and the Founders Series models. The latter model will come with only 1,000 being produced.
In terms of battery and range specifications, the Tesla Roadster 2022 will have a 200 kWh battery pack that can cover 620 miles of range on a single charge.
Tesla has not released the exact acceptance rate of the on-board charger, and the maximum supercharging power of the Tesla Roadster 2022.
Tesla Semi
On November 16, 2017, Elon Musk announced the plan of production for a Tesla electric semi-truck (Tesla Semi).
Before the start of production, the capacity of battery packs that are surprisingly smaller than we thought was revealed, which is 500 kWh.
While the Tesla Semi was expected to have a larger capacity of battery packs ranging from 600 kWh to 1 MWh.
Elon Musk explained that the battery for passenger cars had been chosen because of the lack of the battery production capability.
In addition, a 300-mile version of the Tesla Semi would be put into production at the end of 2021, and the longer range Semi version (500-mile version) would be coming later.
We can use EV home chargers, Tesla Superchargers, and third-party DC fast charging stations to charge the Semi vehicles.
Besides, a more powerful Supercharger network-Tesla Megacharger with over 1MW of power output, would also be deployed to charge the Tesla Semi.
The solar would power the Megacharger, which is a good way of taking advantage of solar power.