Tesla showed off something last week that I genuinely thought I’d never see.
If you follow Tesla news at all, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’ve wanted it for years, and frankly, I’d given up hope.
Yes, I’m talking about Tesla’s home charger, the Tesla Wall Connector finally smart charging cars that aren’t Teslas.
My garage has a Powerwall, a Tesla and an electric Mini Cooper. Until last week, only one of those cars could charge smartly.
Back in 2023 I reviewed the Tesla Wall Connector and gave it this verdict: A Good Choice For Tesla-only Households. Not Great For The Rest Of Us.
The problem was brains, or the lack of them. In Tesla’s world, the car does the thinking. The Powerwall tells the Tesla how much spare solar there is, and the car throttles its own charging to match. The Wall Connector just passes the electrons along like a glorified extension cord.
Plug my Mini in, and nobody was listening. It charged at full whack from wherever the power happened to come from, including my Powerwall.
Firmware 26.34 for the Powerwall and the Gen 3 Wall Connector fixes that. The Powerwall now talks to the charger directly, so the badge on the car doesn’t matter. Tesla’s Australian support page says Charge on Solar is now “available for any EV regardless of make for Powerwall and Wall Connector owners.”
There’s also a Low-Cost Charging mode that uses your tariff and solar forecast to charge at the cheapest times.
SolarQuotes writer Jacob Boyd has the full fine print here.
Tesla Admits Other Cars Exist
Tesla is not a company famous for its humility. For years, the deal was simple: buy the whole Tesla kit (car, battery and charger) and it all plays nicely together. Buy anything else and you’re on your own. A bloke on a Tesla exhibition stand last year rolled his eyes at me when I asked when the Wall Connector would talk to other brands, and told me it was never gonna happen.
This update concedes that plenty of Powerwall owners park something else in the garage.
The cynic in me suspects this has more to do with how many Powerwalls now sit next to BYDs and Kias than any sudden attack of introspection. I don’t care. It works.
A few weeks ago I argued that anyone selling batteries or EV chargers should start with one question: “What do you already own?” If the answer is a Powerwall and a non-Tesla EV, the Wall Connector just went from “not great” to the only sensible choice.
The Other Reveal
A flying Roadster – nearly as exciting as the latest Tesla firmware update. Image courtesy of Tesla.
Last Thursday (Friday morning our time), at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas, Tesla finally unveiled their new Roadster – labelled “Klanborgini” by some wag on Facebook. The car drove up a curved ramp, clung on with suction fans until it was upside down, fired its cold-gas thrusters, flipped in mid-air and landed on its wheels.
I can’t stand Elon Musk, but I’m a control engineer. That stunt took serious engineering and will inspire young engineers everywhere. The thrusters run on ultra-high-pressure air through ten nozzles. Keeping a car stable while it cartwheels through the air on bursts of compressed air is a brutal control problem, and they solved it on a livestream with the world watching.
If you watched that car flip, launch off an upside-down ramp, barrel roll, land, and felt nothing – I’m sorry. You’re dead inside.
It was almost as exciting as Tesla’s Wall Connector firmware update. A Tesla home charger admitting my Mini exists is a bona fide miracle.
Phase Shift is a weekly opinion column by SolarQuotes founder Finn Peacock. Subscribe to SolarQuotes’ free newsletter to get it emailed to your inbox each week along with our other home electrification coverage.
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It’s a known fact involving physics, when a car has round rubber things between it and the road there is a much greater chance that the car will go where you want. Where that isn’t the case the car goes where physics dictates and makes expensive graunching noises the whole uncontrolled way. When an upset occurs that removes the rubber from the road having an automated way to put it back in the right orientation is possibly better than the introduction of the seatbelt… Never thought I’d see a service schedule that includes check and inspect the rocket nozzles on a car
Now Tesla just needs to remove the parasitic growth attached to the top of the company.
For anyone without a Powerwall the Tesla is still just a dumb charger and not an option.
Call me dead inside 🙂 but the engineering involved in this boy’s own comic strip does not impress me. For all the intent ( dull ) and purpose ( useless waste of time and money ) this could be an AI experience . And in fact should have never gone beyond an AI exercise. I could think of thousands of more useful and environmental sound developments than this sexual dysfunctional “achievement”. Come on , we know rockets and thrusters are from the immature Musk childish male fantasy realm.
If you have any interest in investing and not suffering from Elon delusion syndrome so rife nowadays, you’d recognise the flying car aspect is more a showcase of the tech, warming up to a Tesla/Spacex merger announcement.
It was stated the “rocket” version when (and if) available is not for public sale and invite only.
If you’re not impressed with the engineering, you are a very hard man to impress.
Working to accurate timelines or not, I’ll wait with anticipation as those doubting Elon will be humbled.
Call me hard to impress. Yes, it was an impressive piece of showmanship – but the engineering, not so much, speaking as a mechanical engineer. The flying bit (including the flip) could have been done with four fixed corner vents controlled by essentially the same sensors and algorithm as a $50 quad-copter. Instead of propeller fans, the Tesla Roadster did it by brute-force application of compressed air. Granted, the laws of scaling make the problem harder as the craft gets bigger, but a budget the size of Tesla’s was able to show that it was possible. For at least 30 seconds anyway.
A few weeks ago at the Gold Coast air show I witnessed the Gravity Industries jet suit guys zooming back and forth for a few minutes levitated by nothing but jet-powered backpacks and hand-held jet engines. That was impressive. Note also in contrast that those guys were putting their own arses on the line. But it’s hard to think of realistic practical applications. The flying Roadster possibly less so.
Yes, the flying car, which is just another scam demo from Musk to distract from the last blown deadline, exaggeration or straight up lie. Yes, it worked, but there is no way you would be able to pack something like this into a production car in a practical way. It would be a one-shot system that provides about 1.5 seconds of thrust followed by many hours to recharge the tanks unless they add another ton or more of weight to add multiple high-powered compressors to the car.
Knowing Musk’s behaviour from past demos, this likely had multiple large tanks of compressed air taking up half the interior space of the car. Remember, this is the Roadster II where he took $250 million in deposits for the “in production now” car about eight years ago. It is the same man who has faked demos of solar roofs, FSD, and Optimus Robots.
Overtaking might just take on a whole new meaning.
What about the long overdue OCPP update for Tesla Wall Connectors?
Hi Mark,
Tesla assured us and SA Dept of Mines & Energy that they had OCCP 1.6 sorted in this article from August 2024.
However the story was they weren’t publicising it until they’d rolled through to OCPP 2.0 for better security.
I have 2xTesla EV , 1xWall charger. The other car is just plugged into a normal wall 10a socket. About 2 yrs after ringing support ( got thur to a USA support). I explained to her that my wall connector was charging on solar but my other car wasn’t..After a minute she said try it now…Vola it worked. That made me happy.
Elon Musk – may be able to get great minds together to create new technology for him and to make him one of the richest people on earth.
Does it actually help us in the universe?
Politically he is too dangerous as well.
We should not support him.
Just saying – look at his neuralink and giving new found life to people. He saved astronauts in space – what’s the value of life to you. He also helped pave the road for EV to be accepted and normalized.
What politics are you talking about?
Hi Bob,
I think you’ll find Musk is often compared to Henry Ford.
They’re both hailed as geniuses, in reality both had enough charisma to attract the people they needed to develop huge strides in manufacturing, which brought untold wealth. Sadly they’re both pretty flawed humans in other respects. Despite introducing hire purchase, doubling his workers wages and putting the world on wheels with more Ford T models than all other makes combined, Ford was also a raging antisemite who was given the highest state honours by late 1930’s Germany.
Musk uses his money to promote the same politics today. He has beamed himself onto big screens at German political rallies, because his salutes would likely see him arrested if he set foot in the country.
Hi Anthony,
I think you’re getting a little over the top here.
Firstly, you make it sound as though someone making a lot of money is criminal or unethical– I disagree with that in a free marketplace. That is part of the world’s issue at the moment is that people are demonizing any and everyone with innuendoes or twisted truths.
Musk “beamed himself” at rallies, I do believe he only “beamed himself” once, so that should have said “rally” not rallies” and his message from his mouth is found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoNB5IWL0Hw —you might want to watch it and tell me what he said that was so bad you have felt you have to mention it in a demonizing way.
The “salutes” comment is disingenuous and again you’re demonizing him for an action which he has denied.
Also, I would suggest all humans are flawed or are you suggesting you are perfect and have never made a mistake or something you did or said that may have been interpreted incorrectly.
Just saying——:)
Thanks Anthony. Hitler allegedly kept a photo of Henry Ford on his desk – check out the Dog and Lemon Guide’s “Cars and Nazis” report for a detailed, enlightening and even amusing background.
Various right wing despot types definitely seem to admire Musk and appreciate the disinformation that he actively spreads. Though perhaps Trump has moved his picture down to the bottom drawer lately.
Bob: the concept of a ‘free’ market is ultimately an oxymoron. Rules enforced by the state are what creates functioning markets. The logical endpoint of a totally ‘free’ market is when a warlord sticks a gun in your face and takes your stuff. And Musk himself has been the beneficiary of much generous state support.
Hi Alex,
Without stating the obvious, most people understand that all companies are subject to the law in some way. However, the free-market system in the USA allows individuals to accumulate unrestricted wealth—a system largely mirrored in Australia, hence the high number of billionaires and multimillionaires. A case in point is electricity; as soon as the market was privatised, bills steadily increased, save for a brief period when they may have dropped slightly.
The state support Elon Musk receives might not be what you mean, unless you are referring to US government contracts. Those contracts are for services rendered, not free money. Furthermore, the US government frequently awards contracts to private companies to achieve specific national goals. Australia similarly awards contracts to both domestic and foreign firms.
These tyrants you refer to and the disinformation, I would challenge you who determines this disinformation, if its you then God help us just by your language.
Bob, sorry to disappoint you but Musk did not invent the Neuralink, nor did he save astronauts in space (he’s not Superman). All he did was provide the funding to enable the truly smart people to make these things happen.
Let’s not make the American mistake of thinking that someone who has a whole lot of money must be a genius.
Hi Alan,
Thanks for your comment—however, I never said that Musk was a genius! But I will push back here if you don’t mind and suggest that someone who becomes the richest man in world because of his efforts (he was not a super-rich boy nor did he come from old world mega money or wealth) he has to be given credit for that. Weather he is a genius or not I’ll leave that to the smarter people in this world than me!
Whether Musk personally with his own two hands made the Neuralink or not does not really give credence to your statement “sorry to disappoint you but Musk did not invent the Neuralink” — what I can say is, he seen something worth pursuing with other very intelligent people and now because of the Neuralink it has brought incredible joy to some people so far.
The superman snipe was very disingenuous Alan. It was his company SpaceX that saved these people after the failed attempt of the Starline.
What about Starlink–this has brought the internet to the farming community!
This is also on Musk’s tab from his DOGE efforts gutting USAID: “Epidemiological models and public health studies estimate that cuts to USAID and foreign aid under the Trump administration have caused between 500,000 and 781,000 deaths globally, with roughly two-thirds of the victims being children”.
Using the Tesla Powerwall variable tariff app combined with the Powershop night EV plan and all-electric house with 5.8 kW solar, my power bill for last month was $98 for the house and car.
You don’t recall his chainsaw swinging at a Trump rally? And his new Chief of War? He may have helped the EV evolution. But does that make a hero? Not in my books.
Oh Bohdan,
The chainsaw was merely a prop —it was theater to show that he was going to slash or cut through the wasted and fraudulent spending in the USA government. Try not to read something in that that wasn’t there!!! The last time I looked I think the USA was 40 trillion in debt, that is massive and not to dissimilar than Australia’s 1 trillion in debt. Spending needed to be cut and still does in the USA, and I might add even here in Australia too—1 trillion in debt we are—how is that going to be taken care of– any thoughts from you on this!!!!!!
The term “hero” is very subjective—some kid that is very intrigued on space travel may look at SpaceX efforts and see Musk in the light of a hero for what he has accomplished just there—very subjective term my friend.
Musk is certainly not a hero to me either, albeit he has been instrumental in some very worthwhile causes– but that doesn’t mean we demonize the dude as you are trying to portray him to be in an unfair light!!
But his efforts turned out to COST the US government money! The slashing led to re-hiring of illegally dismissed staff, pay-outs and more revenue not collected by gutted federal overseers than was ever saved. He got accountability and ongoing investigations for his own interests wiped out, the path cleared for the mergers and financialisation of his various trash and treasure ventures, then scraped the system for data before moving on.
It was just another Tesla stunt for the clapping seals. Only a real engineer would see what you see happening is not genuine. What was the point?
Hes never delivered the last roadster he promised so why should this be any different. He said they will only sell that model to approved customers because he cannot make the real car do what it did in the video.
A real engineer would know that a planet that does not have life cannot be made to support life. Its the same story everywhere you go with Tesla.
Its the same with Powerwall 3, the software does not deliver what it says. I would ask you vist the focus groups on Facebook to see whats really happening. You will also see that the recalls on PW2 are far more extensive than what they admitted in court. I specified PW3 on my install because I bought into the capability on the reviews that I watched.
I purchased my pw3 2 years ago. Just got another the software is great. Have 2 EVs one with mobile 16amp charger the other ..std 10a…They only charge the car on solar….could not be happier…I’m off the grid essentially ..Only complaint is it has done 4 recalibrations on the battery…
You will be glad that you are not one of the 67 people killed while using self driving. Or you bought PW2 only to find out it was faulty and Tesla were covering it up with software updates. I hope you will watch the film about Musk who was facing a jail sentence until Trump got in. In the film he jokes about it.