Cybertruck Wireless Charging?

[Rick Shepherd]

Wireless charging for the home is... kinda iffy. You have to park exactly on the pad, they're expensive, and you still lose a fair bit of energy doing it. The amount of time saved vs plugging in is minimal, too.

Wireless charging makes more sense in a public infrastructure sort of way, like taxis queued up at a stand or something where they connect/disconnect frequently.

-Crissa

Tesla can already move about on its own and matching that to signal strength from the charging pad would be trivial. As to efficiency:

" The SAE has found that over a 10-inch air gap, wireless charging can operate at up to 94 percent efficiency"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebast...akes-evs-even-easier-to-love/?sh=d47379769413

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[rlhamil]

Wireless charging for the home is... kinda iffy. You have to park exactly on the pad, they're expensive, and you still lose a fair bit of energy doing it. The amount of time saved vs plugging in is minimal, too.

Wireless charging makes more sense in a public infrastructure sort of way, like taxis queued up at a stand or something where they connect/disconnect frequently.

-Crissa

Yes, my top concern would be that such things are seriously inefficient. I can charge my iPhone MUCH faster with a sufficiently powerful wired charger than wirelessly, too.

If one wanted infrastructure charging, I'd say a physical automatic connection (at rest) and disconnection would be good. One that would make it like an off-again on-again electric train (so you could have essentially unlimited range without stopping; awesome if you imagine a FSD RV, just stock up your yummies and go anywhere that the roads will take you) would be even better, but there are definitely safety AND wear AND even metal vapor pollution issues with a power contact for a moving vehicle.

 

[rlhamil]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebast...akes-evs-even-easier-to-love/?sh=d47379769413

Interesting. But their highest level is 11kW, less than 1/10 of a 150kW Tesla Supercharger.

At some point in further increasing the power, the strong magnetic fields would be a hazard; to unshielded equipment nearby, people with pacemakers, etc.

A suspension that allows adjustable height (like the CT has) could help, bringing the distance down to something close to optimal; and shield walls that come up most of the way would probably also help (to reduce the effects beyond just charging the vehicle).

 

[Dids]

Tesla can already move about on its own and matching that to signal strength from the charging pad would be trivial. As to efficiency:

" The SAE has found that over a 10-inch air gap, wireless charging can operate at up to 94 percent efficiency"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebast...akes-evs-even-easier-to-love/?sh=d47379769413

True... but why can't it just maneuver itself then lower itself unto a contact? Why does the airgap need to be a thing?

 

[MouldyCrouton]

True... but why can't it just maneuver itself then lower itself unto a contact? Why does the airgap need to be a thing?

Exactly a set of contacts is much more efficient. Only downside is you'd need to keep it clean, remove snow and whatever else. Inside a garage it would be perfect though

 

[Crissa]

Interesting. But their highest level is 11kW, less than 1/10 of a 150kW Tesla Supercharger.

But your truck spends far more than 10x the time at home than it does at a Supercharger. Same for taxis sitting at taxi stands. It's cheaper to be parked than moving while waiting for a hail. And 11kW is about 30-50 miles an hour.

-Crissa

 

[BillyGee]

True... but why can't it just maneuver itself then lower itself unto a contact? Why does the airgap need to be a thing?

A solid point, but then I remembered that my roomba contacts get too dirty to conduct just from scooting around the house. I imagine a cybertruck would be way dirtier if used correctly.

Also, speaking to what the thread seems to be about now, I don't see why you would even want a charge mat like that. A cord seems just fine for the car. Maybe in a common area or built into a parking spot in a garage, but not just out in the open.

 

[Dids]

A solid point, but then I remembered that my roomba contacts get too dirty to conduct just from scooting around the house. I imagine a cybertruck would be way dirtier if used correctly.

Also, speaking to what the thread seems to be about now, I don't see why you would even want a charge mat like that. A cord seems just fine for the car. Maybe in a common area or built into a parking spot in a garage, but not just out in the open.

The contacts don't have to be exposed... but I don't even know why I'm advocating for this. A robotic plug can plug in at the normal port and nothing will get any dirtier than a normal charger does and thats probably what they are gonna do because its the simplest, safest and most efficient way.

 

[Crissa]

The contacts don't have to be exposed... but I don't even know why I'm advocating for this. A robotic plug can plug in at the normal port and ...

...And a robotic arm is moving parts and a coil doesn't move.

-Crissa

 

[Roland Mills]

It will probably be in the console.

hmmm theres an idea! you think that granite countertop dashboard opens up in more ways than the glove compartment? ?

 

[Roland Mills]

I'm as lazy as the next guy but not that lazy. I don't think this is going to be a big seller in the consumer market. The tech is, of course, pretty cool but as it is pretty high tech it is expensive as hell and not that efficient. One system currently available appears from it's specs to be only 75% efficient (delivers 30 amps of charging from 40 amps in) and costs $13k! It's essentially an air core transformer and as the permeability of air is so low the only way to get the consequently huge currents required is to use resonant tank circuits with very high Q and the only way to get high Q is to be sure the secondary isn't loaded very heavily. Lot's of engineering trades here but the systems are not simple at reasonable efficiency and that's what you are paying for. BTW I think 75% efficiency is pretty good for such a system.

Fair point well made! maybe this is only a good solution for robotaxi hubs. May be a good alternative to the snake charger?

 

[Roland Mills]

Yes, that's a fancy plastic box. There is no reason for it to be a fancy plastic box. It's a dumb wire coil. Maybe a sensor about the size of your pinky to detect the car, but you could do that with the coil.

In fact, that model looks downright dumb.

-Crissa

agreed. now that i see an example, that does not look appealing at all.

 

[Roland Mills]

There are several problems with wireless transfer.
1. Receiver coil weight. The amount of wire required for high power is not insignificant.
2. Safety. The power levels are sufficient to cause death. If your cat, child, raccoon wanders into the field or horrors between the contact less coils death and fire will result. If a potato chip bag blows in between it will incinerate and a fire is born.
A much better solution is robotic contact transfer.

wow... i had no idea. Thats terrifying! Do you think they'll make that robotic snake charger available for the public? Or will it just be in future robotaxi hubs?

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

The version in their other models don't look like anything in this picture. I'm hoping they fit it in there!

It would be insane to not offer it. @Crissa makes the important point; that all recent Tesla vehicles have had it, and now they come standard with wireless charging instead of just supporting it.

 

[happy intruder]

Actually for those of us thinking about parking/charging our CT outside on the driveway, worrying about theft is bad enough with the charging cord. A charging pad would have to be theft PROOF for me to leave it on the driveway. How the heck would that be possible? Maybe built into the driveway? Sounds expensive and complicated. I'm totally prepared to be educated on this. Because I consider my self, very UN-educated on charging infrastructure.

boy built into the driveway would be great.....I am planning on putting a new driveway in next summer (2022)