The Cost of Installing a Level II Charger at Home

[no%X#XMVk65v#cq]

For what it's worth to those following, I do all of my charging with the mobile charger on a dedicated 14-50 plug. I was worried that I'd need more amps, but in actual use it charges overnight, which is all I ever need. In fact, I dial the amps down in the app from the max of 32 to only 20 just to put less stress on the system. Because again, it charges overnight so it makes zero difference to me if it takes 4 hours or 7 or 13.

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[Mikec3399]

OK, I finally got around to pulling the front panel off and taking some pictures of the charger wiring to the breaker.
The first picture is the breaker and the wires.
The second picture is the panel to the charger.
The large cable coming through the wall at the bottom is the main power line coming into the house.
There is another panel to the right of this one that is powered by the battery back up system for the house.

So is this your PowerShare panel, usually 12 breakers

 

[Mikec3399]

I have a standard 2 car garage and im putting off charger install until I get the truck. I want to see how tight it's going to be parking it inside. If it's too tight for my liking then the truck will be parked in the driveway. I have a f150 crew cab and I dont park that inside.

I have a porsche carrera that park inside and Ideally I'd like to garage this thing next to it. but if I have to shoehorn it in everytime into the garage then I'd rather park it outside.

So, i was thinking I can install a 240 plug to use with the mobile charger til I figure out my situation. Im not doing powerwall or giving back to the grid or any of that. This is my 1st ev

I have plenty of room in my garage, remember this truck is as large as my ford excursion. Cybertruck is 224” long 84” wide 75.4 inches high
Any excursion measures almost exactly the same footprint just a hair, taller.
If you can get your Porsche and your F150 in the garage together and I say it’s a home run
You don’t want to be tripping over the cord. It sticks out when plugged in

 

[CyberGus]

So is this your PowerShare panel, usually 12 breakers

That is not a PowerShare panel.

Here’s my 3V gateway during installation, next to the new main panel on the right.

 

[CyberGus]

I have plenty of room in my garage

That‘s no garage. That’s a space station

 

[Legend_]

New orders don't come with mobile connector anymore, it's an add on. Cybertruck order page has the normal one for $300 along with the Powershare version with the dual 120V outlet adapter for $380.

All 2026 models come with Mobil chargers

 

[REM]

All 2026 models come with Mobil chargers

Really? I guess they want to get mass field testing of the new mobile chargers.

 

[no%X#XMVk65v#cq]

Hmmmmm

Q: How does Tesla respond to NEMA 14-50 questions?

A: While an existing NEMA 14-50 outlet will work to charge the car, you would need to purchase the $35 adapter from Tesla to make it work, they are not provided with the vehicle.

Tesla does not recommend installing a new NEMA 14-50 outlet to charge your car. Installing a Tesla Wall Connector is the recommendation, and it is for a number of reasons.

First off, the electrical code has changed to require all new NEMA 14-50 outlets be installed on GFCI breakers. The Tesla already has one on-board to protect itself, and if you have two GFCIs on the same circuit, they tend to trip each other, making for a very unreliable charging setup. Not all building departments are enforcing this code requirement, though, so you’ll have to check with your electrician if you might be able to get away with a standard breaker on a new NEMA 14-50 outlet.

Second, the maximum charge rate for a Model S on a NEMA 14-50 outlet is 23 miles of charge per hour. The Wall Connector on a 60amp circuit will give you 34 miles of charge per hour, so 50% faster charging.

Third, the reliability of charging on a NEMA 14-50 outlet is limited by design and quality of the outlet your electrician buys. There is a $15 (Leviton brand) residential grade NEMA 14-50 outlet sold at Home Depot that is not sufficient to support daily vehicle charging. The Leviton outlet has fiberglass insulators that tend to melt out after a few months of vehicle charging. The outlets are not designed specifically for EV charging; they are designed for plugging in RVs and range ovens. Ranges will pull max power once in a while when we roast a turkey, but EV charging will be pulling maximum amperage for hours on end every night. For this heavy use, we recommend an industrial grade NEMA 14-50 outlet, by one of these three brands: Hubbell, Bryant, or Cooper. These use glass or ceramic insulators and should last 3-5 years before they, too, eventually need to be replaced. At $50 – $100, they are not cheap.

Fourth, installing a Tesla Wall Connector lets you keep the mobile connector that comes with the car in the car. If you are using the cord that comes with the car to charge at your home every night, you will need to unplug it and take it with you every time you travel, which is time consuming and will wear out your plug faster. Most owners in this situation end up purchasing a second Mobile Connector Bundle to keep in the car as a backup, which is ~$300. Many folks expect to save some money by installing the NEMA 14-50 outlet instead of the Wall Connector, but that usually doesn’t end up being the case in the long run.

So for faster charging, a more reliable charging setup, a future-proofed design (the Gen3 Wall Connector gets OTA firmware updates), and a better looking unit, the Tesla Wall Connector is our only recommendation. I have attached the Gen3 Wall Connector installation guide as a reference.

I hope this helps!

Jonas Clausen | Tesla Installation Project Manager
47700 Kato Rd. | Fremont, CA 94538

Great info.

I used the hubbell industrial outlet. To minimize wear, I've never unplugged it ever. It's not on a GFCI, I let the truck figure that out. And with my powershare credit I bought an extra mobile charger that I carry for emergencies, though I've never taken it out of the box so it's probably overkill and unnecessary.

I had always intended to add a wall charger later, but I just haven't seen the point so far.

 

[mongo]

All 2026 models come with Mobil chargers

Interesting, base 3 and Y along with Cybertruck don't call out mobile connector on their order pages. Higher trim 3 and Y do along with S and X.

 

[Outdoors]

Interesting, base 3 and Y along with Cybertruck don't call out mobile connector on their order pages. Higher trim 3 and Y do along with S and X.

I am going with not included on base CT. As it shows an option to buy one. Others as @mongo mentions says included and don't show the box to check to buy.

 

[Sposborn]

Self installed all of my chargers through the years. 4 guage wiring and maybe breaker cost maybe 100 bucks in material total. Powershare box was slightly more annoying because of communication low voltage wiring, but it was more nusance than anything.

 

[mongo]

I am going with not included on base CT. As it shows an option to buy one. Others as @mongo mentions says included and don't show the box to check to buy.

The website is a little funky though.
No Cybertruck trims say mobile charger included.
For Y, only AWD is missing it and it doesn't have the connector purchase option.
It's not called out at the bottom as included equipment either.

 

[Outdoors]

The website is a little funky though.
No Cybertruck trims say mobile charger included.
For Y, only AWD is missing it and it doesn't have the connector purchase option.
It's not called out at the bottom as included equipment either.

There was a time when it was announced it wasn't coming with the car. Elon's always rationale. From lumber to power connectors. Usage stats BS:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a series of tweets over the weekend that the change was prompted by customer feedback. Explaining the decision to sell the bundle separately, Musk tweeted “Usage statistics were super low, so seemed wasteful. On the (minor) plus side, we will be including more plug adaptors with the mobile connector kit.”

 

[Legend_]

Im not going to order one and will demand a charger if i don't see it in my truck at delivery. If the give me any grief, I will point them to @Legend_'s post

https://youtu.be/BruuIsa4ANE?si=c7sW2qrcH9VcOwQj

 

[Mikec3399]

My garage is basically same dimensions as your red/black truck space. I can fit my carrera and f150 but I dont because it's too tight for the length of the truck and I dont want to do precision park every time. I have just a foot in front and behind the f150.

wait till you learn FSD and Self Park, and this is where "summons" will work perfectly
it's coming

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