From phones to computers to power tools, cutting power cords has been a sign of progress — and likewise, wireless charging for electric cars could be a game-changer. With the emergence of a wireless inductive charging pad in Tesla's forward-looking statements at the investor day, the road to the global electric vehicle charging experience has begun. Tesla did not provide details on when and whether the technology might be available to car owners. But thanks to its commitment to charging every day without having to manage the charging connector sooner or later, this may be a good reason for the company's decision to include it in its charging future.
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Many car companies are involved in wireless charging first, and Tesla hopes to come later
"We have to expand our infrastructure, and yes, we want to power it with renewable energy," Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla's head of global charging infrastructure, said during the charging portion of her investor day speech. "But we're Tesla, so we also want to make sure we continue to focus on delivering a truly incredible charging experience."
On one side of the presentation slide appears to be a new rendering of Southern California restaurants and Supercharger stations that Tesla has been brewing for a long time. On the other side of the slide is a wireless charging pad, located underneath the Tesla Model S parked in the garage. It's also a necessary technical component for self-driving cars — a more elegant approach than the snake-shaped wired charger prototypes Tesla has shown in the past.
WiTricity, one of the leading companies focused on inductive EV charging for passenger cars, would not comment on whether the examples Tesla presented were theirs or in the form of licensing of their technology. However, the company has equipped the Tesla Model 3 and Ford Mustang Mach-E with wireless charging technology for demonstration purposes, and it is the only company to offer the technology to factory OEM applications outside of China, including the Genesis GV60 model.
About five years ago, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz planned to offer the feature, but both eventually changed direction — Mercedes availability was canceled, while BMW limited availability to a 530e plug-in hybrid-only pilot program. But a SAE standard approved in 2020 to ensure interoperability, along with interest and investment from a range of vendors — including Siemens, which made a small investment in WiTricity — now collectively helps push the technology closer to market.
Tesla isn't the only company in putting the technology in the spotlight in recent months. At CES in January, Stellantis' Ram truck brand showcased an inductive charging robot that enables wireless charging without having to stop in the exact same place every day.
Wireless charging leader WiTricity is a huge thrust, and Tesla will greatly accelerate the process
WiTricity expects the market to reach an inflection point around 2025 or 2026, when more luxury premium and mass-market models will offer the technology as a feature or option. But if Tesla adopts the technology widely by then, it could help significantly reduce the cost of entry for the technology.
"History tells us that wireless things are popular," said Amy Barzdukas, WiTricity's chief marketing officer. Barzdukas believes that wireless charging makes more sense based on another message that emerged from investor day — Tesla will adopt two-way charging. "We proved that wireless charging can be bidirectional; This has become a growing focus, and we see some huge opportunities for wireless charging to play a role in stabilizing the grid as it enables passive V2G," she said. "Once regulatory and utility issues are resolved, whether it's a commercial fleet or a private one, you don't need to plug in a power source to get the experience."
A study last year by WiTricity among people who currently own an electric car or intend to buy one within two years showed that the technology is very popular. Two-way wireless charging tops the list of advanced technology features – higher priority than top-of-the-line autonomous driving features, advanced audio, and parking assist. More than 75% of respondents said they would install wireless charging in driveways or garages. The survey didn't address the cost, and while there have been some aftermarket entries for Tesla vehicles, a pair of wireless charging floor mats and related components totaling a few thousand dollars has been one of the deterrents so far.
Cost is the key to future adoption, and Tesla ownership is a potential advantage
Barzdukas added that with the mass deployment of technology, improvements in materials and integration of parts, costs will drop significantly. "The price of a wireless charger in 2030 should easily be comparable to a traditional physical charging plug," the WiTricity executive said.
Efficiency is important to Tesla owners, and it was one of the topics of the Investor Day presentation. So it's worth pointing out that WiTricity's technology can receive 99 percent of the energy sent from coil to coil, while its overall efficiency, from the circuit box to the car battery, is about 90 to 92 percent — in the same range as most plug-in charging.
The charging rate is also comparable to that of wired. Last June, the company reported that its Model 3-mounted wireless charging system could provide the car with about 10 kilowatts of power, which equates to a range of about 48 miles per hour. At the time, the company noted that its wireless charging was not limited to 11 kilowatts, and that a higher power version was possible. Meanwhile, WiTricity plans to sell its setup in an EV aftermarket charging system and conduct early beta testing of the system later this year.
Now that wireless charging technology is already tied to Tesla's future — however faint — it's expected to soon appear on more options lists for electric vehicles of all brands.