Tesla’s first V4 Superchargers are being spotted in Europe just days after the company announced that initial installations have begun.
Last Summer, rumors of the first-ever V4 Superchargers started to swirl as illustrations and specifications of what would appear to be the newest iteration of Tesla’s charging piles surfaced. Rumors of increased size and even faster charging capabilities were the first things that were reported with the new system.
Plans for the first installations of the V4 Supercharger appeared in a project plan for a new site in Danvers, Massachusetts, but it was revealed that the United States would not get the first bites at the new design and functionality.
On Wednesday, during Tesla Investor Day, the company said it was officially installing the first V4 Superchargers in Europe, and now it seems we’re getting a first look at what is to come.
Initially spotted by Electrek in a video from electricfelix, it appears the first V4 Supercharger installations are taking place in Harderwijk, the Netherlands. The chargers will support a 1,000-volt architecture for increased charging speeds across multiple manufacturers, longer cables that will support other vehicle makes, and larger stalls to house all of the extra power.
Electricfelix said in their video that the new Superchargers are considerably larger than past ones:
Credit: Electricfelix | YouTube
Tesla could be installing the first V4 Superchargers in Europe due to the continent’s experience with the non-Tesla EV charging pilot program, which the automaker launched a couple of years ago. Instead of attempting to test out other EVs’ compatibility with Tesla’s Supercharger network in the United States, the company first tested the program in Europe, where there would be less congestion.
Although Tesla is now installing “Magic Dock” chargers in the United States that enable other EVs to charge, the rollout is extremely young, with the first installations occurring just last week.
It seems logical Tesla would try the new Superchargers in Europe first.
We’re seeing that with Magic Dock-equipped Superchargers in the U.S., the biggest complaint thus far is the length of the cable, which has vehicles like the F-150 Lightning taking up multiple parking spots to enable charging. The V4 Supercharger appears to have longer cables, according to the video.
Details regarding the Harderwijk location specifically are not available, other than Tesla’s indication on its website that it is expected to open sometime in Q2. The video shows around 16 total Supercharging stalls at the site, all of which are expected to be V4.
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