Tesla to upgrade its new 350kW V4 Superchargers as thicker cables fall off and are harder to plug

While Tesla and non-Tesla EV drivers alike appreciate the longer cables and improved placement of the new 350 kW V4 Supercharger stalls, the ongoing installations have also presented them with some challenges in daily usage.

Tesla installed its first V4 Supercharger station last year near a highway in the Netherlands and has been rolling out V4 stalls with card payment terminals throughout Europe and the US ever since. The initial excitement about the V4 Superchargers quickly petered out, however, as it turned out they are still run from 250 kW V3 cabinets and Tesla is yet to upgrade a single one to its official 350 kW charging capabilities.

So far, it didn't need to, either, since it had no electric vehicle that could take advantage of such charging speeds. With the release of the Cybertruck, however, Tesla now has its first EV with 800V drivetrain and true fast-charging architecture, so we should see it upgrade its V4 Supercharger stations to the more powerful output they are rated for at some point.

Meanwhile, however, the longer, heavier, and thicker V4 Supercharger cables meant for said 350 kW output have presented unexpected challenges. They turned out stiffer to manipulate and plug into a charging port as well as more cumbersome to hang on the holster, for one. The more rigid insulation and added weight also mean that they often slip from their docks and fall on the ground.

Those worries were first raised by a dedicated Norwegian account as Tesla now has over 20% penetration among all vehicles in the country. The freezing Scandinavian temps mean that Tesla or other EV drivers often found V4 Supercharger stalls with cables that have slipped off their docking holsters and fell on the ground in the snow and mud.

"The cables are less flexible and make it difficult to bend the cable and place the plug where you want it," complained the Norwegian drivers, while the "grip of the holster makes the plug fall onto the ground and get snow/dirt exposure."

Adding insult to injury, those real-life disadvantages of Tesla's new V4 Superchargers come with no tangible increase in power output for now, on top of the fact that they are "much taller and opaque, and block visibility at the site," since the cable runs on the outside of the stall instead of an inner ring.

Tesla is apparently aware of these issues with its latest V4 Supercharger stall generation, and is preparing to address them in one fell swoop. In its typical direct-to-consumer fashion, the official Tesla Charging account responded to the complaints and acknowledged that "minor things matter," while advising that "cable dock & stiffness improvements [are] coming soon!" Thus, Tesla is seemingly going to upgrade its V4 Superchargers indeed, but not in the expected 250-to-350 kW direction just yet.

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