- Tesla’s head engineer slammed a brand new extension cable for Superchargers
- The OEM of the cable clapped again with assurances of security and additional testing
- It additionally accepted authorized legal responsibility ought to one thing go sideways whereas charging
Bear in mind when Tesla’s head Cybertruck engineer dropped a sizzling tackle Supercharger extension cables a number of days in the past? Wes Morrill suggested “in opposition to” utilizing them, ensuing within the cable producer, A2Z EV, reaching out to him to debate specifics—now they’re again with their very own replace.
In a current collection of posts, A2Z EV addresses the protection considerations first-hand, assuring the general public that their cable does have security measures built-in to guard in opposition to overheating and different points introduced up by Morrill. That is not all. The OEM additionally doubled down by accepting authorized legal responsibility ought to one thing go mistaken and it decided to be attributable to the extension twine. That is proper, they’re prepared to place their cash the place their, erm, extension twine is.
First off, in the event you missed the unique drama, let’s recap.
Morrill took to X on Wednesday to provide his opinion—as Tesla’s lead engineer on the Cybertruck and an general material professional—that folk should not contact a Supercharger extension twine, or any DC Quick Charger extension cable, with a ten-foot pole. The priority? When linked to high-output EV chargers, these sorts of extension cords may trigger energy points, overheating, and even shorts (doubtlessly leading to fires). Total, they’ve the potential to create an unsafe charging setting.
Properly, that precipitated a little bit of rippling throughout the EV group amongst non-Tesla house owners who now have entry to the Tesla Supercharging community. Since their autos have cost ports positioned in areas not optimized for the Supercharger’s quick cables, these house owners noticed an extension cable as a chance to make the charging expertise simpler. Morrill’s recommendation might have made them about-face.
A2Z EV chimed in after chatting with Morrill to guarantee the general public that they don’t have anything to fret about. Based on the corporate, their extension twine has a number of security options built-in to stop any form of thermal points. For starters, the cable has its personal temperature sensors on each ends. A2Z says that if a sensor determines that the cable is simply too sizzling, it should shut down, doubtlessly stopping the cable from overheating ought to the charging session go sideways. It is their method of clapping again by saying, “Yeah, we considered that.”
The corporate additionally confirmed that it will be held legally liable if issues had been to go awry and the cable was deemed to be at fault—be it for harm to the automobiles or from fires. That is a fairly daring assertion, because it reveals that A2Z is assured in its product even when Tesla’s prime Cybertruck engineer has his personal considerations.
This debate is not going to vanish in a single day. Regardless of A2Z’s reassurances, introducing any variable into an in any other case seamless charging expertise may introduce some technical challenges that may in any other case go unnoticed. The query of whether or not or not these cables have an effect on the charging course of remains to be legitimate. Plus, if one thing goes mistaken, would Tesla void a automobile’s guarantee, or an insurance coverage firm deny a declare?
For now, A2Z EV says that it will not launch its product with out intensive testing. It additionally says that it is open to working with Tesla to make sure that its product meets its requirements. Remember that Tesla can be constructing its personal extension cable, so we’re unsure how a lot Tesla could be prepared to eat into gross sales of its personal first-party product.
Even when the corporate determines that this cable is secure for launch, it now has to battle previous the stigma launched by Morrill’s suggestion. And that is to not say that Tesla may not introduce some form of detection methodology sooner or later that disables the cable for perceived security functions. Regardless, this actually will not be the final time we hear concerning the Supercharger extension cable debacle.
