At home charging.

My suggestion - do not use a mobile charger as your permanent EVSE. Buy a good EVSE, installed it using a wired installation and you will be much safer. Also, the charging speed will be higher.

Lol, I need another cup of coffee. I thought you said using a weird installation and you will be much safer. 🤣

If you have charging at work, 120v might be good enough for at home. The car comes with a charger you can use at home.

This is kind of the way I was leaning. Is there any benefit to the mobile charger or any conversion adapters?

:) I have 2 chargers, plug installation in my garage, and it got fire in one of them as an incorrect (aka cheap) outlet was used by a "**certified installer".** So the best option, and safest option, is a wired install IMHO

Well, initially I was thinking that would suffice, but I figured there may be instances in which I may want to charge for a trip, at home, but I watched a YT video talking about charging issues and it said the outlets are the weak link and tend to overheat and cause fires.

This is kind of what I'm thinking.

I use it only if I am going to my friend's house and need to charge. Some people use it when camping. I see no other benefits.

Keep in mind that if you live somewhere with winters well below freezing, L1 will not be able to charge the car any meaningful amount.

There’s going to be times you wish you had a level 2 charger at home. Might as well install one now. The mobile charger is slow AF. But for costs savings you can still charge at work.

Spend the $450 on the Tesla charger and and get it installed with a 60 amp breaker. The mobile chargers work well when you need them but I would not use mine as daily. Install will be probably $700-$1100 but it will be worth it in long run.

I had an electrician install a 240v outlet below my breaker box. He changed me 450 for the install and I just use the charger I got with my 26MY.

Outlets do tend to be the issue, but that doesn't mean the lugs in a hardwired charger are entirely innocent either. They can have a similar issue. Plugs are liable to wear out though, so if you are unplugging your connector every day, that's an issue. I have a properly rated 14-50 outlet and have a mobile charger just "permanently" mounted to the wall. It's functionally the same as a hardwired charger, except its easier to remove down the line. I keep a second charger in the car for actual mobile use. The main difference here is if you are wanting to use the full 48A, you can't use a 14-50. tbqh, 32a is plenty anyways.

There are good outlets available that if installed by a qualified electrician should be fine if you are leaving the plug in all the time. Just note that you will get 32amps max…and that’s fine also if you only have RWD (that’s the max charging rate on Level 2…even for a properly wired Tesla charger). I have AWD and want the max charging rate of 48 amps.

Why not use a Tesla level 2 mobile charger if the wiring is properly done? Are they dangerous or something? Only asking because that is what I use.

Does the mobile kit have the same safety mechanisms as the wall mounted unit?

Did you have to get a permit?

Essentially, yes. (Technically different due to the physical layout/nature of the design). It just doesn't have the remote connectivity/extra features of the wall mounted one. Set it and forget it.

Was that also with the cost of permitting?

Ahhh

Depends - if you intend to stick a mobile charger in the outlet (should be [Bryant Nema 14/50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YVn9scIuzI) or similar quality) and not remove it often, this may work. A bit slow charging (I think it is limited to 32A instead of 50A max on wired). The problem with outlets (even good ones) - degrade significantly when frequently plugged and unplugged. So eventually they will start arcing.

I've used the mobile charger connected to a 220 v outlet installed by an electrician for two years - no problems. It's meant to be used for that purpose. It's not the cause of fires unless someone installed it incorrectly. In fact, it senses any excess heat and protects itself in that event.

I have 2 houses and neither needed a permit although they do need to be inspected and that was included. My cost on one house was $699 plus the state inspection which added $200. The other house in on the coast and total was just under $1100 for the same. They did have to reconfigure the breaker box on that house. Tesla has a list of certified installers in your area on their website.

You already have a charger at work. If your Tesla is going to be in a garage, have them install a plug and use a portable mobile charger. \- When you go on trips, you can unplug it and take it with you. \- If it dies, you can just buy a new one. You don't need to call someone to install it. \- If you move, you can just unplug it and take it with you. That extra few kw/h isn't going to make a huge different. And you will have more options. Why restrict yourself? Or have to buy another portable charger for the road? Just get a plug installed.

The mobile charger is level 2

Same

No comment

Absent a portable kit, how would someone charge their car? Supercharger only?

Roger.

I highly recommend at least a level 1 charging option at home. Overnight your car drains slightly (“phantom drain”) and having it plugged in avoids you having to think about this everyday. What is your driving behaviour on workdays vs days off? If both average under 70km per day, you will get by with just a level 1 charger at home. The charger at work is a bonus. I have both a level 1 (portable kit) and level 2 to support two cars. The level 2 charger rarely gets used above 20A, mostly it’s at 15A (well above what I need) but I have the ability to go to 40A in an emergency. Both cars average under 50km/day when used, some days 0. For me level 3 charging is a hassle and only used on road trips. It’s a great network, I’ve been on may road trips, like Toronto to the Florida keys and from Toronto to NYC many times. There’s nothing unsafe about it.

Oh, it has to be done by a certified tesla installer? I doubt they're in my area.

Discussion of possible costs always makes me nervous. There are a couple variables that can really influence what an installation will cost. Do you have room in your panel? How far will the charger be from the panel? I understand that a hardwired installation can charge slightly faster, but I opted for a NEMA 14-50 plugged installation so if I ever need to remove or replace it, I don’t need to call an electrician. It’s able to charge at 40 amps. (I like the Emporia products.)

I think the permit requirement is very dependent on where you live.

We got the Mobil Connector (or whatever it’s called) and adapters when we got our Y. I had an electrician in and he installed an outlet that the cable plugs into and it stays there unless we travel. The cost of the outlet was $247. The main panel, which we had upgraded several years before, was 3 feet away.

Doesn't have to be

You're probably right.

Get a home charger. It’s always worth it.

Oh, good. Nothing Tesla is in my area, I'd be screwed.

Supercharger or other brand charging stations with the proper adapter. My 2020 MYLR came with the older version of the portable charger: 120 volt only. About 4 miles of range per hour. Not enough for my daily commute, which is 72 miles per day. I installed a level 2 Tesla wall connector and that solves everything. 45 miles of charge per hour. No more trips to the supercharger. On a trip, sure, but what choice is there really.

Get a high quality dryer outlet installed in your garage and use Tesla mobile kit. Charges at 30 miles per hour.

You can diy this.

Superchargers, fast DC chargers, and L2 public chargers. (I miss Volta!!!) But whether that works or not would depend on the ops home location, and how close supercharges are. I would not recommend it as a default. Electricity is expensive where I live, so Superchargers at night are cheaper for me. And I have 2 SC stations within 2kw drive and a mile away from my GF’s place. But op has a charger at work (I assume L2). Depending on distance from his office, he may not even need to charge during the weekday. Cheap portable chargers are like $100. I don’t see a reason not to have one.

Thanks, as someone who was an electrician per my past career. Now you have me worried that my outlet I bought from Lowes and installed per code "NEC" is going to catch on fire. Wild that the NEC and inspector would allow such a thing.

This is the outlet to use. I installed mine with a 40 amp breaker and the mobile charger pulls 32 amps so it stays cool as verified with a thermal camera. https://a.co/d/04oBI8ug

It all depends how far your work is. We drive 45 min everyday and the mobile charger in a standard outlet is plenty for us to just charge at home on off peak hours. I don’t think we’ve ever got the car under 50% except on longer roadtrips. FYI our juniper came with the charger. I’m not sure if they still offer that with the car

Depends on your state if they require a permit but the company I went through provided the permit with my install.

The good news - Tesla mobile evse and permanent stations have a built in thermo sensor in their plug. So even if your outlet will start overheating it will stop charging and notify you. I have ChargePoint Flex and despite costing 750$ it has no overheat protection....

No it doesn’t. That’s just a resource for finding an installer

I recommend a hardwired charger at home. The Tesla one is good and is cost competitive with other L2 chargers. Installation cost is variable from $500 to $2000+ depending on panel, panel location, distance from panel, etc. Unless you’re really comfortable with electric work and familiar with code requirements, I would highly recommend a professional installation. Get multiple quotes if possible if you don’t have any specific electrician you use. I scheduled my install prior to buying my car but had to wait a few weeks and using the mobile charger kinda sucks. It’s nice to have 48 amps on deck if you plan to regularly charge beyond 80% since it helps minimize the time the car spends over 80% SOC. It’s also just way more convenient if you can get it installed next your car’s charge door. It’s just way more convenient on the whole. If you’re going to be an EV owner for the long term, just get a permanent install. Buy once cry once.

Oh, ok

So, you had an electrician install the outlet for the unit to plug into...not a bad idea.

I paid $800 for two recently.

I looked for an electrician who had experience with EV charging. Not to knock any handyman, but I specifically wanted an electrician for this task. Someone who understood everything from sizing the panel to the correct gauge of wire and the proper outlet hardware. Probably cost me a few more bucks, but I didn’t think it was the place to cheap out.

New Tesla’s still include a mobile charger? Both of mine did. I added a wall charger for convenience and faster charge rate. I like to keep the mobile charger in the car “just in case” without having to think about unplugging it from the wall to take with me. I’ve found situations where I’ve needed use it more often than I’d originally expected.

I'm getting a pre-owned.

From what I saw, its better to get it professionally installed with permit to prevent the insurance company from denying an insurance claim in the event of fire.

Yeah, well with the danger of long charges, I would agree with not being cheap and getting it done right.

Like 7 miles. I'm mainly thinking about of we were to go on a trip and need to charge enough to get to work.

If you're not comfortable with doing electrical wiring, get a licensed electrician. I've seen some posts telling you to put in a 60 amp circuit. Well, this is why you need an electrician. Many houses have a panel rated at a max of 100 amps. You probably don't want to take more than half of its rating with an EV charger. What you do want is a 40 amp circuit which will let you charge at 32 amps. You will need a nema 14-50 outlet. The mobile charger that comes with your car will work just fine as a permanent home solution, plus if you travel you can just unplug it and take it with you. It will plug right into the 14-50 outlet and let you charge at 32 amps, assuming your panel can support it. You can charge at 110 volts, a 15 amp circuit will let you charge at 12 amps, but this will be painfully slow. If you're getting an EV, you want at least a 240V 40 amp circuit. BTW, many homes also have 200 amp panels so if that's the case, sure, go with a 60 amp circuit and you can charge your car at 48 amps. If this is what you have, you will want a Tesla Wall Charger for that, or another aftermarket charger that is a bit more robust than the mobile charger. In my case it's an older 100 amp panel so I'm limited to a 40 amp circuit which lets me charge at 32 amps, which equals about 10% per hour, so if I were to charge from 0 to 100% it would take about 10 hours. But I've been able to plan my charging based on my actual driving so I've been setting my max at 60%. The lowest my battery has gotten is about 28%, so I keep it between 30% and 60% charged. BTW, the amp ratings of circuits have a built in 20% buffer for safety, meaning that for example, a 20 amp circuit can handle a draw of 20 amps but its "safe" capacity is 16 amps. Which is why a charger plugged into a 40 amp circuit should not draw more than 32 amps.

My first one was used and came with the mobile charger.

I just use my 220v plug 🤷 Works fine for me

If it says leviton - thow it out and swap it with a Hubbell.

Check with your power company on any EV rebates. Mine gives $500 for having a 240v installed and $1500 for buying a EV.

They make receptacles specifically rated for EVs. It’s approximately $40 more iirc and is supposed to handle the higher continuous load and be more durable in general. It should be safer but I went hardwired.

I’ve been using the mobile Tesla charging cable for 4 years. It maxes out at 32 amps and never once have I wished for anything more. 32 amps more than gets the job done over night.

Love my installed charger. No maintenance. Super reliable. Out of the way. Never have to think about it or the car’s charge. Come home. Plug in. Done.

$247 parts and labor? That seems ridiculously cheap for a 240V EV outlet install!

It's 30 minutes labor, 3 feet of #6 AWG cable, a box and hopefully a good quality NEMA socket. $250 sounds just OK. Maybe your electrician has a much higher minimum labor cost?

The quotes I've gotten are almost double that for a similar installation with a Bryant outlet and GFCI 50A breaker. I live in a fairly LCOL area as well so I dunno...

Yes, it was $247. Short pull to the box.

Install the Hardwire charger for home. Portable as a backup

IMHO, the 48 amp wall charger is a must have.

This is misinformation. There is no reason to not use your mobile charger daily. My 8 year old mobile charger is still going strong. The last 4 years it has been charging 2 teslas. So I’m not sure what “the long run” is considered. The difference between 60 amp wall and 50 amp mobile (breaker) is insignificant for nightly charging to 80% from any starting level of charge even 1%. It’s more of an aesthetics thing. Or, depending on where op lives you could get a rebate from the power company for doing the wall and not the mobile, some do both, some do none, some do wall only.

I had my buddy, who is an electrician, install mine. Also got a rebate back for installing it. Overall was around $300 total to install.

My neighbor did this. I just used mobile 14-50 lol. They bought theirs when Tesla stopped including the mobile charger

He save a ton by being 3 feet from the panel lol.

I didn't say you can't, I said I would not. I'm not worried about the charger in that application, it's the wall plug that fails. Too mnay people assume all 240 plugs are the same and they are not. The standard 240/50 amp plugs used on your dryer or stove are not designed to be plugged and unplugged daily. They can and do fail so if you are going to pay an installer to put the proper plug or breaker in, why not get the best result. And yes I did get a rebate from the power company and $1000 federal tax credit

I paid $250 for my 14-50 plug in my garage. Phoenix AZ area. However if I could do it over I’d get the wall charger

240 is good for most. Ive had a wall charger for 7 years now and its worth every penny if you stay in the EV realm.

A lot of it depends on how much wire has to be run. 3 feet? Not a problem. 50 feet? Gonna be expensive

I just paid $250 to have a outlet installed in my garage, it was right by the panel though. Other companies were quoting me $1500 for the same thing just because I said it was to charge my Tesla.