Tesla teases electric car that plugs ITSELF into charge: Elon Musk describes 'metal snake' that automatically connects to vehicles
- Elon Musk said California-based Tesla is working on automatic chargers
- These would plug themselves in autonomously and charge electric cars
- He tweeted it would move 'out from the wall and connect like a solid snake'
- Mr Musk previously alluded to the technology at a talk in October
- He envisions a future where Tesla's cars park and charge themselves
In the future, your electric car will drop you off at work, drive home and charge itself using an automated charger, before coming to pick you up later in the day.
That’s the vision of Tesla boss Elon Musk, who tweeted his firm is working on a ‘solid metal snake’ charger that automatically moves out from the wall.
The short reveal on Twitter is just one of several new features Tesla is planning to roll out for its electric cars in the next few years.
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Elon Musk said his California-based Tesla is working on automatic chargers. These would autonomously charge Tesla's electric cars. In a tweet (shown) he said it would move 'out from the wall and connect like a solid metal snake'. Musk had previously alluded to the technology at a talk in October
At the moment, Tesla vehicles are charged either by using one of the company’s supercharger station, or plugging the vehicle in when at home.
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But, the latest technology would eliminate the need for people to manually connect their car to a charger.
And, as cars become more automated, this could open up new possibilities for self-driving vehicles.
In his tweet Musk wrote: ‘Btw, we are actually working on a charger that moves out from the wall and connects like a solid metal snake. For realz.’
He previously alluded to the technology at the reveal of the Dual Motor version of the Model S back in October.
‘Something I’d like to do...is to have the charge connector plug itself in,’ he said at the time.
‘Like an articulating sort of snake, or something. Just plug itself in.
‘I think we’ll probably do something like that. So then you can just get out of your car and it’ll go park itself in your garage.’
His latest tweet confirms the company's plans to develop the technology.
It’s not clear when it will be rolled out, but in another tweet that has since been deleted, Mr Musk said the technology would be used on current and future versions of the Model S.
At the moment, Tesla vehicles are charged either by using one of the company’s supercharger stations, or plugging the vehicle in when at home (shown). But the latest technology would eliminate the need for people to manually connect their car to a charger
Is this what Tesla's charger might look like? A video posted to YouTube by OC Robotics showed off the Series II X125 system, which is a 'snake' that can move and support itself in mid-air autonomously, perhaps showing how Tesla's charger will move from the wall to a car
In other Tesla news, last week the firm updated its electric Roadster sports car with a huge boost to its battery, enabling it to drive 400 miles (645km) on a single charge.
The upgraded battery pack along with tweaks to its aerodynamics means it will effectively double its range.
To prove the capabilities, Mr Musk revealed the firm plans to drive the car from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a single trip.
The firm has also made a new aero kit for the car to reduce drag by 15 per cent, and revealed tyres with 20 per cent less drag.
'We have identified a new cell that has 31 per cent more energy than the original Roadster cell,' the company said.
'Using this new cell we have created a battery pack that delivers roughly 70kWh in the same package as the original battery.
'Combining all of these improvements we can achieve a predicted 40 to 50 per cent improvement on range between the original Roadster and Roadster 3.0.'
In other Tesla news, last week Tesla updated its electric Roadster sports car (shown) with a huge boost to its battery, enabling it to drive 400 miles on a single charge. The upgraded battery pack along with tweaks to its aerodynamics means it will effectively double its range
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