Cybertruck and Model Y Juniper to charge 30% faster as Tesla unveils 500 kW V4 Supercharger upgrade

Tesla is finally bringing fast V4 power supply cabinets to the taller Supercharger posts it's been deploying since last spring.

When the new V4 cabinets that are currently getting regulatory permits start arriving at stations next quarter, V4 Superchargers will be able to peak at 500 kW of output per post.

This would allow Cybertruck owners, who enjoy an 800V architecture, to charge 30% faster than they do now, closing in on Tesla's promise that the pickup can be charged in less than 20 minutes. Ditto for the upcoming Model Y Juniper refresh that will be Tesla's second vehicle with an 800V powertrain.

When the Model Y Juniper facelift is released next quarter, its launch may very well coincide with the rollout of the first Tesla V4 cabinets, letting it add more than 250 miles of range in 15 minutes or so.

Little will change for current Model 3 or Model Y owners, though, as these electric vehicles are still built on Tesla's aging 400V platform.

Tesla V4 Supercharger speeds

A more powerful output is not the only virtue of Tesla's new V4 Supercharger cabinets. Granted, they support 400V-1000V EV architectures, making them suitable for charging the Tesla Semi at peak 1.2 MW rates as well, but there are important upgrades in terms of costs and deployment speed, too.

Instead of four, each cabinet now supports eight Supercharger posts, for example, and there is no longer a need for a DC bus between the cabinets. This means that only half as many will be needed per Supercharger station, with fewer components among them, allowing for faster, cheaper installation, as well as longer uptime.

Tesla waxes poetic that the new 500 kW Supercharger cabinets are designed with the most modern and reliable electronics out there that carry 3x the power density of its current 250 kW V3 cabinets in the same footprint, but the halved number of cabinets per station has its drawbacks.

According to Tesla's Max de Zegher, for instance, while the V4 cabinets can supply up to 1.2 MW of power, and less than that is needed to "deliver maximum power to cars 99% of the time," the output would still be distributed among eight posts, returning about 125 kW of peak charging rate per stall.

Needless to say, this is in the worst possible scenario at peak hours when all posts are occupied, and even then charging would be much faster than it is now.

The key thing is that Tesla finally keeps up with the Joneses from China like Nio or Xpeng, which have been installing fast chargers with up to 800 kW output for a good while, as most of their EVs are built on an 800V architecture.

The only thing left for Tesla now, is to release more 800V vehicles like the Cybertruck. The upcoming Model Y Juniper refresh that is likely to sell in the millions will be a big step in that direction. 

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