Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer at Tesla, revealed in a recent interview with comedian Jay Leno that the electric vehicle company is working on wireless inductive charging technology.
The technology would allow Tesla vehicles to charge simply by parking over a charging pad. Von Holzhausen stated, “You just pull into your garage, drive over the pad, and charging starts automatically.”
This new charging process aims to increase convenience and ease of use for Tesla owners by removing the need to physically plug in the vehicle. Wireless charging has long been viewed as the next evolution in electric vehicle technology.
However, technical challenges have slowed mainstream adoption until now. Tesla’s engineering team is hoping to leverage the company’s expertise in batteries and charging to make reliable wireless charging a reality.
No timeline was given on when wireless charging capability may debut in Tesla’s consumer vehicles. But the company is expected to thoroughly test and validate the system before bringing it to market.
Still, von Holzhausen’s reveal signals that Tesla is making major progress on this anticipated feature. As more automakers roll out electrified models, Tesla continues pushing innovation to stay ahead of the competition.
