On March 1, the usual Tesla Investor Day took place. One of the most anticipated events in recent years concluded with many promises and few short-term realities. One of the latter was the deployment of the new V4 Superchargers. Although the CEO of the company, Elon Musk, gave the good news, he avoided giving technical details of what the new fast charging points will be like. He did comment on something about it and that is that they were going to settle in Europe first. Today we have woken up knowing that the deployment of the network will be sooner than we imagined. The first points are already being installed and we know when and where they will open.
Tesla has a huge asset in its charging infrastructure. Considered the most reliable network in the entire market, the evolution of charging points has been significant in recent years. With more than 40,000 sockets installed around the world, 400 of them in Spain, the Americans continue to widen their gap with other competitors thanks to a new generation of superchargers. The V4s will improve on the data of the current V3 superchargers with more power and support elements.
Until today, the location of Tesla’s first V4 charger was unknown. We knew it was going to be in Europe, but not exactly where. However, purely by chance, a user, known as ElectricFelix on YouTube, has raised the alert while driving through the Netherlands. Through his car, he immediately recognized the new points, easily identifiable by their size and by the different style from the current model. Four connections, three of them covered by a tarpaulin that looks already completed, and a third point that seems to be completing its installation.
The exact location is Harderwilk, a small town in the north of the Netherlands. The country has one of the most complete charging infrastructures in Europe. The electricity market is in very good health and Tesla is the sales leader. Few better places than this to start with a long-awaited deployment. We do not know if there are more works underway, but we do know when the facility will open. Just take a quick look at the company’s website to discover that the inauguration is scheduled for the second quarter of this year, although there is no specific date.
One of the keys to these new charging points is the adaptation for models that are not Tesla. It has been over a year since the company began to unlock its network of superchargers for the enjoyment of other users. They will have a longer hose that will allow them to adapt to the different locations of the car connections and thus not hinder the operations of other users. Once the point is open to the public, we will be able to know more technical details. A priori, as a Twitter user has discovered, the charging power will remain at 250 kW with a maximum output voltage of 500 volts.
