Tesla has been spotted starting to deploy new V4 Superchargers in the US. The new version of the charging station is critical to the Cybertruck and opening the network to other electric vehicles.
The V4 Supercharger program has been slow to ramp up.
We have been hearing about the new charging station for over a year, and we have seen a few stations come online in Europe and Asia over the last few months.
There has been nothing in construction until now.
Over the last few days, we learned of at least three Supercharger V4 stations currently being deployed in the US.
One of those stations is being deployed in Wilsonville, Oregon (spotted by Tesla Motors Club, picture by pdx_m3s):
In Sparks, Nevada, Tesla is also retroffiting a V3 Supercharger station with V4 stalls that have both the new payment screen seen on some new V4 in Europe and the Magic Dock that has been deployed on some V3 Superchargers in the US (picture via u/RealPokePOP on Reddit):
This could be one of the first V4 Supercharger to be open to non-Tesla EVs.
Finally, a new Supercharger V4 has been spotted in construction in Prattville, Alabama (picture by Cory Johnson via Facebook):
Tesla has yet to bring these stations online, but there’s a clear ramp-up of construction of V4 Superchargers in the US.
The new V4 Supercharger is really important to the charging network expansion because the new format, which has a cable that is 3 feet longer, is going to be critical to adapting the charging experience to the Cybertruck and non-Tesla EVs.
We have seen the Cybertruck charge at V3 Superchargers, and it is possible, but you have to park the truck in the almost perfect position to reach the charge port with the connector.
This is also an issue with Tesla opening the Supercharger network to EVs from other automakers, which often put the charge port at different positions around the vehicles.
The new longer cable will make it easier to support different vehicles, and bigger vehicles like the Cybertruck, which is going to launch any day now.