Tesla has invested heavily in the development of charging performance and battery technology for its vehicles for years, so that most models can now charge at 250 kW. However, electric cars do not charge at a constant power – the so-called Charging curve shows how the charging power changes depending on the current battery level.
In this blog article, we explain which factors influence the Tesla charging curve and what differences there are, for example, between the charging curve of the Tesla Model Y and the charging curve of the Tesla Model 3.
Tesla charging curve: What does it look like?
Unlike the fuel tank of a combustion engine, the battery of an electric car cannot be filled evenly. “fill“. As the state of charge (SoC) increases, the charging power decreases, especially above 80% SoC – one of the reasons why charging times are often given as 10–80%.
The advertised maximum power of 250 kW is therefore often only reached at the beginning of the charging process; the average over the entire time is often only around 100 kW or even less.
Graphically, it looks like this; the image shows the charging curve of the Tesla Model Y Standard Range model (photo by EVKX via X):
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Charging curve of Tesla Model Y and similar vehicles: What does it depend on?
The beauty of variable charging curves is that users can influence them to a certain extent. Whether the maximum power is reached and what the average power is depends primarily on three factors:
Tesla Model 3 charging curve increase: The right charging station
First and foremost, the charging station itself must, of course, support sufficiently high charging capacities. The Tesla Superchargers of version V3, which currently make up the majority of stations, support 250 kW, while the next generation V4 supports significantly more. Read more about the progress with... V4 Supercharger.
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of fast chargers, especially from other charging providers, that only support lower power levels.
Optimizing the Tesla Model Y Performance charging curve: Preconditioning
Another important point to consider when planning charging: the battery temperature. Once the battery has warmed up to its ideal temperature, the maximum possible power output increases.
All Tesla models feature a preconditioning function that is automatically activated as soon as a charging station is entered as a (stop) destination in the navigation system. Did you know that you can in Tesla can also be preconditioned manually. can?
Therefore, anyone who uses the route guidance in the infotainment system, even if they know the way to the Supercharger, can optimize their charging time.
Improving the charging curve for the Tesla Model Y Long Range: The battery level
The third key to maximizing the range charged per unit of time lies in the battery level upon arrival at the charging station. As already mentioned, the charging power is only truly close to its maximum when the state of charge (SoC) is low.
To achieve the best possible performance, it is recommended to charge with a low state of charge (SoC). Those who visit a Supercharger with a 60% battery level should not expect the charging system to deliver its maximum performance.
Tesla Model 3 charging curve
Now let's look at the individual Tesla models. As mentioned, the maximum charging power for all modern Teslas is currently 250 kW.However, there are differences due to varying battery size and technology.
The charging curve of the standard Tesla Model 3 Highland with the 72 kWh Panasonic battery, for example, shows an average of 98 kW between 10% and 80%, while the Tesla Model 3 Long Range charging curve drops off much more steeply, reaching an average of 95 kW. Combined with the larger 85 kWh battery, this results in a charging time that is a few minutes longer.
Tesla Model Y Juniper charging curve
Technically, the Model Y shares many similarities with the Model 3, which is why the charging curves and charging times (approximately 30 minutes from 10% to 80%) are also very similar. However, the Tesla Model Y Long Range charging curve performs slightly better, averaging 99 kW.
The difference with the LFP battery is interesting: Tesla's LFP charging curve only reaches a peak of around 175 kW, and an average of only 82 kW. – However, its slope is also significantly shallower. This article provides more information on the... different battery chemistries and their properties, advantages and disadvantages.
Tesla Model S and X
Tesla has installed significantly more powerful technology in its top-of-the-line Model S and X. The charging systems maintain a peak charging rate of 250 kW for considerably longer (up to over 30% state of charge), resulting in a much higher average charging rate of 129 kW. Despite the significantly larger battery capacity of 100 kWh, the charging time from 10% to 80% remains just under half an hour.
View Tesla charging curve
Important: All values mentioned are derived from standardized charging curves for the respective models and variants. In individual cases, charging performance may deviate, either higher or lower. – We explained above how you can influence them.
Unfortunately, Tesla itself does not offer a way to directly display the charging curve of your own vehicle. Therefore, you either have to monitor the charging power displayed on the screen throughout the entire process and create a graph yourself, or use third-party tools like TeslaLogger or EVKX.
Have you ever analyzed your Tesla's charging performance? Feel free to share your findings in the comments!
