I’ll get one for the pure reason that it will allow me to pull into the correct stall! I want to help keep the charging environment as happy and well-balanced for all :-)
These cables are needed if you are using a bike rack. Many Tesla chargers have a post that prevents backing close enough for the charger cable to reach past the bike rack. Although there are some Tesla chargers with a forward pull in, they are not everywhere and sometimes those chargers are used by Tesla drivers for the convenience of the driver that doesn't want to back into the stall.
And those of us that tow. Same situation with folks in the pull through spots where they exist. I'll be buying one to prevent blocking and/or odd angles of pulling in when towing.
@AaronandbriEnne Absolutely agree with both of you - when I travel with a double bike rack or have my cargo trailer attached, I have to shoot for the parking spot at the far end of the lineup to avoid blocking a charger (if it's configured as a typical 10-14 SuperCharger station).
So happy I sold my Tesla (for a massive loss) and got out of the home and public charging nightmare. I got back half my life now that I don’t have to spend it thinking about charging.
@ You’re gonna need it, sucker!! Every time I pass an EV charging station I laugh so hard thinking how I no longer waste my life there like you!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡💩💩💩💩💩💩
Out of Spec guys will be wrapping a wet rag on these to keep them cool. 😂Seriously, this sounds like a great product. Tesla should do their own testing on this and bless it. It will really help life at their V3’s.
I really would like to see them release 2 different lengths instead of a compromise. Maybe a 4 footer and a 10 footer. I'd love to have one when I'm towing. Even if I was derated, it would be better than having to disconnect. Especially important when it is cold. Last thing I want to do is fiddle with my slushy trailer hitch, chains, and wiring.
F150 Lightning owner here. I’ve used Tesla Superchargers on road trips with few issues relating to access however, at Thanksgiving the number of people using Superchargers was crazy busy and finding an available stall was a challenge. An extension cable would have been very handy. As the population of BEV users grow at Superchargers the need for conforming parking will grow as well.
@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 there's still the use cases of bike racks and trailers which will become more common. The stations should just be pull-through the same as gas pumps always are, and they should all have longer cables on the chargers without an aftermarket extension cable.
@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 Oh here we go, typical Tesla fanboy blaming other manufacturer's for Tesla's terrible short cables and "everyone has to back in" design 🙄
18:25 I'm surprised they didnt mention that as OEMs start using NACS native ports that doesnt mean they are going to put then on the drivers rear corner. So having NACS on both ends makes more sense
@@michaelwitkiewicz7052 as I think more about it, being NACS only makes the most sense for the long term. The CCS-native car market is relatively small compared to the entire EV fleet, so making a single cable type makes the most sense.
@@SueC56 The V4 will have longer cables, along with being in the middle of the parking spot. The V4 stalls are very few and far between now. It'll be quite a while before they are everywhere.
Buyer beware. If you buy a car with the charge port in the wrong location, that's on you. Yes, there will be superchargers (V4) where you'll be fine, but V3 will be around for a while, and you will have problems using them. That's fine as long as you don't whine about it later.
@@Chris-k7x9d Provided things don't get too derailed over the next few years, it isn't like Tesla will be the only game in town. No one who doesn't want to be will be beholden to V3 SCs or even SCs in general.
21:45 Parking every other stall even on V3+ also ensures that both Tesla cars have very easy door access including for older folks as well as kids that may not worry about door dings and other considerations.
I saw a comment that a Tesla station had the parking lines repainted to facilitate the shift over needed for a lot of non-Tesla vehicles. Very cost effective change if property managers were willing to make the effort.
@andreafj it's not possible for both Tesla vehicles and most non-Tesla vehicles to utilize the same spot for the same charger - it doesn't matter how the lines are painted. The cable cannot reach both.
I would like the longer cable for pulling a small trailer with my Model Y, which would put the charging port on the opposite corner of the car if I pull in nose first, too far for the 5-ft extension to reach, and would be the length of the trailer away from the port if I backed the trailer into the spot.
A 5 foot cable sounds good, but I would not make it any shorter. The fact that it is NACS to NACS is good, as I would like to use it with my Tesla. The reason a longer NACS to NACS cable would be good is for when I am trailering and might what to park in an aisle opposite the superchargers.
I’d like to see 10’ just reach when towing with my Y. 5’ May not be long enough to nose into a stall or angle into an end stall. Also for bike rack as well. My 2¢
A longer cable would be nice. It would be great for reaching ICE’d spots or when needing to park further away when towing. Would love to see a CCS option as well. Undoubtedly some will go the double adapter route to go CCS to NACS extension to CCS vehicle. We’re all stuck in adapter hell for some time to come still.
TOM 👋. 💥. Genius invention. This would also be invaluable for people who are towing with their Teslas and there is no drive-through. The Tesla could find a place to pull up behind the superchargers or off to the side and not have to disconnect the trailer. I hope this product takes off because it is truly ingenious.
I'm excited about the prospect of using an extension for my Lightning not only so I can avoid occupying two stalls, but also to make it easier to charge when pulling my small travel trailer (plus the bonus Robert said - pull in along behind the stalls where possible)!
I believe a lot of people are hung up on higher power for charging but most EVs peak out in minutes and that's at the very low end. If an EV has a very good charging curve, that's all you need. If you pull up where you can only charge at, say 120kw max, enjoy the extra time and breathe. We are so programmed to be rushing at just about everything that even my wife sometimes complains in the bedroom 😊
I am SO glad you checked for AC charging as it is a little too common for an ICE to be parking in the spot with the charger. Also, if you have a trailer, you could park behind the AC charger on the street and plug in without having to unhitch, or block adjacent chargers.
Local tesla supercharger stalls are generally occupied with Teslas spaced with an empty between them making them of no use to our Bolt EUV. Also latest snow storm, plow trucks in the parking lots pushed snow into the chargers because they are inset with a curb on 3 sides....no way for a plow truck to clear snow close making every single charger in my zip code 65202 totally useless, could not get close enough to any supercharger. Looking forward to this cable.
Would be great to have longer versions for charging with a trailer. Also it would be good to have the CCS option so additional adapters (point of failures) would not be needed.
Good video! Glad to know about the product. I can imagine getting one of these to use with my e-tron, which has a chargeport in a location similar to your Ford F-150. The question of why the adapter is not built in was a good one, and I did not find the engineer's explanation to be compelling. Seems as if the real reason is to keep the price reasonable, and to promote sales of the adapters. My counter argument is that the more connections you have, and the more components, the less reliable the system will be. One other comment is that I could see using this type of extension cable with other charging stalls besides Tesla. Some of the EA cables are pretty short, for example. The one time I had serious trouble with charging at an EA station was when the cable was being pulled tight in order to reach the e-tron chargeport. The car threw an error, and I had to use the emergency cable release, which I assume was because the cable was putting a side force on the chargeport that caused a poor connection.
I don't think they explained themselves well, but I do think they made the right decision. Having the adapter and extension as separate components has some advantages... 1) The NACS extension is future proof (CCS cars will be relatively rare in a few years and NACS will be ubiquitous). If it had CCS on one end, it would be useless in a handful of years. 2) No need to use the extension when it's not required. The adapter can be used by itself when the charger cable is long enough to reach without it. Less chance of throttling this way. 3) The extension cable can be shared by both NACS and CCS cars. For example, a family has a Tesla car and a CCS Rivian Truck. They go on road trips and use whichever makes the most sense for that trip. The extension (with or without adapter) could be used by either vehicle. The Rivian may need it for any V3 super charging station that is busy and the Tesla might need it if they have a bike rack/cargo tray on the back. The Tesla could even use the extension when a non-Tesla is blocking two charging spots (using the charging cable from the wrong spot) and there are no other spots open.
@@CL-gq3noI was thinking about this aspect too, as Tom explained the, “limited use case” for AC charging, at a Tesla Destination Charger for example. I have a Model X and a Rivian, so it would seem that an extension cable such as this could be used for either vehicle at a destination charger, as well as a DCFC, with appropriate adapter for the R1T.
Maybe you could test the reachability to an F150 Lightning at your local V3 station to confirm 5’ will be enough and let us know when you cover this topic again.
I like that the A2Z CEO and engineer came on your podcast. He’s also been fairly active on the Rivian Forum. I really trust his company and would never consider buying another charging accessory. I imagine his company took a pretty substantial financial hit when they decided to voluntarily replace everyone’s gen 1 adapter. But he put safety first and did the right thing. I honestly think that these A2Z extension cables will start selling before Tesla ever gets around to reconfiguring their SC networks. Until recently, I never had an issue with not being able to charge our Rivian at Tesla when on our road trips because the stations have always been typical only 50% occupied at any given time. That is mostly because most of our road trips are not in heavily populated areas. This past Saturday, however, I had a heck of a time finding a place to charge coming home from Indiana back to the West Chicago suburbs. I needed to stop at the Tesla SC starting in OakBrook, IL on a Saturday afternoon. This is in the middle of one of the largest retail zones in the Midwest. So needless to say, the station was about 75% occupied. So the Rivian didn’t stand a chance to charge there. I then drove to the nearest EVGO. By the time I got there, the one stall that was available had become occupied. I’m can see where having this extension cable could really be a game changer for those of us that are read-tripping our non-Teslas. I don’t see this problem going away any time soon.it’ll be at least until 2027 when Rivian starts really ramping up R2 shipments.
Some of your might remember in the news, January last year, when there was a heavy snow storm and deep freeze. All the Teslas waiting to charge and running out of battery. That was at this OakBrook, IL location. Heavily used.
Thanks for all of your vids Tom. They have helped immensely since I’ve become an EV owner this year. I love my 2023 Lightning ER and all of these videos are helpful.
Another thing to consider (as for not making one end CCS), several automakers will be moving to the NACS adapter and will likely still need the cable. Also, current Teslas may be towing, or have some equipment that might be in the way and need the extra length.
I'm assuming it will work on AC using a J1772 EVSE > Tesla adapter > Extension > Tesla vehicle? I can see this being useful at hotels or public stalls where the EVSEs are blocked and you need to charge a stall over, especially if you just keep this in your frunk/trunk.
Personally, I think the charging port should be put on the right side of the EVs in the USA since we hope to have charging on sidewalks someday. For cars that have sidewalks on the left side of the car, it should be on the left.
Montreal has tons of street side charging already and it is a pain and kind of dangerous when it's on the left. The cable sticks out into traffic as well
@Tazdeviloo7 Yup, the charging port should be on the side of the sidewalk and not on the side of traffic. It made sense to have the gas filling port on the driver side because they filled up at the gas station pumps, but EVs are refueled differently.
The best solution is for auto makers to move the charge port to the right front. That solves the supercharger access problem, the towing problem and the curbside charging problem. Rivian should do that at the same time they switch to the NACS port.
I agree side walk side make the most sense. But even better would be to have two ports on the back left and right so you can pick either side. GM apparently just patented that. Companies could also do CCS on one side and nacs on the other.
Thanks for the review and asking the questions I had. I've been happy with my A2Z Typhoon and then Typhoon Pro and look forward to adding this product to the Mach E trunk!
I love having access to the Tesla supercharger network. I’ve never gotten any dirty looks double parking when the side charger is used. I’ve been educating Tesla drivers to leave the fare left station free. Several Tesla drivers have said they want a longer cable because they don’t like the torque with the cable pulling on there car if they don’t park exactly right.
It’s also a tripping hazard… someone’s gonna get their ass sued one of these days. Someone trips over said cable & fell down and hit their head and had severe consequences, like death. Their family is gonna be one of these super rich that just decided to take off on them and so then everything will have to be a pull through, but the idiots won’t do it until someone gets hurt.
As someone who tows often with my Rivian, this would be a huge help. I wish it was out sooner than summer. I have a few road trips planned in the next couple months that this would come in handy.
I actually have an extension for my home j1772 charger because I wanted to park on the other side of my driveway and the regular Chargepoint cable didn’t reach. It works perfectly
I'm curious about the signaling scheme of the derating. CCS uses a higher-level protocol (compared to J1772) to talk to the vehicle to negotiate parameters and such; is there another back-channel for temperature/thermal sensors to trip/derate the charger? I don't see how the thermal sensor would be able to negotiate a lower charging speed through the CCS signaling while also passing through communications to the vehicle.
My main issue with these is that they need working sensors and active electronics to prevent overheating. Both the supercharger cable and the car's port are set up to not even start the session if they cannot confirm that their sensors are working. But the copper lines in these cables are connected through, and if the electronics are dead, there's nothing that prevents the energy from flowing. Just wait for Tesla to slowly replace all v3 dispensers with v4 ones.
@@ericroe that's exactly mine and Tom's point. It doesn't make sense to have NACS to NACS plug that connects into a CCS1 adapter to plug into a CCS car. It should be straight NACS to CCS1 to plug directly into the car. There's no technical reason that makes sense. The business reason would be to simplify manufacturing and ensure the product is viable forever, but that's not what they said.
YES! Been waiting to see if such a cable would come to market. It will make a big difference for other EVs with charging ports in different locations. I think a 5' length would more than suffice for my EV. I just might have to buy one, but… in truth, I don't intend to use Superchargers except in a real emergency, with no CCS chargers available nearby.
I’m not sure if I’ll spend the money on this but it would be great for road trips. The only disadvantage I’ve run into with SuperChargers on road trips is on busy weekends, it is hard to really know if you’ll be able to charge a non-Tesla if the app says more than half of the stalls are in use. It also sucks to take up two spots when the stations are busy. The worst part is the Tesla drivers often do not realize that a wrong stall is in use until they park and get out.
I have an extension for regular level 2 J1 charging. Primarily for my own garage charging as my spot is too far from the EVSE but also for when travelling and dealing with NA cars "ICE"ing the chargers, or even EVs that block chargers and aren't using them. Definitely worth to have this along with adapters in your EV.
39:02 How would this extension be used as described at a CCS (ChargePoint) station if it’s NACS connectors on both ends of the cable? Would you have to carry two CCS to NACS adapters? 😅
That's not really it's intended use because Chargepoint cables are much longer than Supercharger cables. But if you wanted to, you'd use a CCS1 to NACS adapter at one end, and a NACS to CCS1 adapter at the other end where you plug it into the car.
Yes the 350amps extension cord will only be for the V3 shorter superchargers. From what I'm reading, the 500amp 1000v V4 superchargers will have longer cables able to reach non-tesla ports.
The AC use case is handy for me too. I have a single charger in a driveway with 2 electric cars. If my wife parks too far up the driveway, my cable won't reach. I would love to buy one extension and use it for AC and DC charging cases.
This will be great for most EV's even the Hyundia Ioniq 5, Ioniq 9, EV6, EV9 etc even with the limited 350amp as most of these will not exceed 150KW well within the 350amp rating. At 5 foot it should be much easier to handle and yet work very well. Looking forward to the production review version!
you should take any loop out of the extension cable, you would be amazed how much the impedance of the cable change with only one loop at this rate of amps
At around 8:20 you are indicating to use an extension cable on AC charging. While it may work, please be advised that the NEC code stipulates that no cable should extend charging with any cable longer than 25’. So while the extension cable is great, it’s most likely that it’s intended to be used with these already very short level 3 chargers cables. For this, I am very excited to purchase
First, that in NEC code relates to the manufacture and installation of EVSEs not their final use. For example, nec may only allow me to have 8 receptacles on a 15amp breaker, but there's nothing wrong with having a bus bar after that, exceeding that limit, or having an extension cord... Considering this is a a three hundred and fifty amp rated extension cord we are talking about you are beyond safe connecting it to a up to 80amp EVSE, furthermore, a lot of public L2 chargers are aren't 25 feet long, really I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find one that is. Additionally, level two EVSE extension cables have existed like this for a long time for J1772 as well.
Question: I have a Nissan Ariya with a CCS port. Will this adapter work between the Tesla Charger and my vehicle? What is the make and model of the adapter. Ariya charging port is in the front end.
After towing a trailer and coming to the only supercharger with a drive in stall for miles around, only to find it taken by the one person afraid to back into the 7 other open stalls, I’ll buy this extension. Would take a lot of stress off
Tom, will you or have you looked at the cable for L2 charging off power pole chargers. What I have seen on some reports is these require the driver to bring their own cable. Not a bad idea as it will make theft of copper harder and eliminate cable being strewn about.
i feel these add ons are all temporary and painful atm but 2-3 years from now, I hope, these won't be needed. Many other charging stations are nicely designed to reach any car length where ever the port may be. That is why, I would rather not charge at TSC unless its the last resort.
Would’ve been nice for all manufacturers to agree on a standard port location. My vote is for anywhere on the passenger side for safety reasons when charging curbside. It doesn’t look like good forethought when seeing a car charge and it places the driver close to oncoming traffic; the fatigue kills cables too. If manufacturers, like Porsche, want to offer an additional port on the other side, no problem.
Why not offer at least 2 lengths? Certify the longer cable version, as the shorter one should be good based on that. There's probably lots of situations where a long extension cable is needed besides dealing with the variety of charge port locations, also towing, big electric vans and utility vehicles.
Another reason to not integrate the adapter into the cable is the increasing number of cables with NACS ports in charging stalls with longer cables like Tesla V4’s, Ionna, EvGo and ChargePoint. To access these from my CCS car, I will need the adapter, but i will not want to use the extension cable and risk possible de-rating of my charging session. Therefore, I need an independent adapter and I wouldn’t want to pay again for the cost of an integrated one.
Interesting, A2Z site says this will be $285 when released. Not super crazy but too expensive for me considering I rarely DCFC and will only be charging at a SuperCharger as a last resort.
Like you asked, it will be interesting to see how Tesla responds to this. It's hard to imagine them or the other OEM's will officially support this, meaning owners will be on the hook if a charging session goes badly. Tesla doesn't even accept A2Z's adapters yet to my knowledge and this is an even wilder idea.
I have a new Lucid Air. The port is behind the driver side front wheel well. I don’t think a 5' extension cable will be long enough for me to charge either 'front in' or 'rear in' in the intended stall at a Tesla supercharger. Has this been vetted?
I need an extension cable for my EV6 and EQS580. But, will wait for A2Z or a competitor to offer a 5 ft extender with CCS1 at vehicle side. This eliminates need for kluge adapter and is a far more elegant solution. Love the four dynamic sensors to manage overheat protection. I wonder if UL Listing for outdoor extension cords can apply to this extension. BTW, as a former product manager, I sent numerous products to UL for listing. It’s expensive and time consuming.
Having an extension cord with different ends would not be a performance charging product, because it would be the slowest "adapter". While, yes, fixing the issue of charge port location, people would not be satisfied with an "adapter" that does half the charging speed than our competitors. The extension cord is not meant as a flagship product, it is meant for those who need it only. Having more than 350A without liquid cooling is practically impossible right now. For instance, the adapter is rated for 500A.
@ Mr A2Z, maybe I’m missing something, but it seems fairly simple. Continue to sell the 500A adapter for those who want high performance. Sell a 350A extension cable with CCS1 connector to those who want convenience over performance. I fit in this second category.
At least the I.C.E car builders only put their gas tanks on the rear on the left or the right of the vehicle, which made it so much easier for the gas stations to design a proper gas pump. And don't take this the wrong way I love electric cars
The small scenario that you talk about is actually becoming a bigger scenario as I was traveling recently, and all the Tesla chargers were filled and what I consider failed is two Tesla chargers for one Tesla vehicle so everybody gets full voltage and one of them or two of them Were left alone off to the side because a nice vehicle was plugged in front of it and this happens quite often. So an extension cord for supercharging would be good for Tesla owners as well sadly.
I hope they will make one for a level 2 charger. A 12 KW version would be great and I could use my home charger when my wife parks her Y in the driveway!
Just got email from Kia for my ev6 2024 I can order the adapter it takes two weeks to order it with you’re vin number and code to get it thought I let you know
Thanks Tom for this video. You are a trooper for filming this test in a snow storm. I have a Mach E and was hoping to see you test on your Lightning, which should be a worst case scenario. I will look forward to that coming test, while limiting the extension to 5 feet. Also, I don’t know that A2Z confirmed the 5 ft length of the final product. You may want to confirm that with them.
He mentioned extending CCS stations... can you give that a test using the two required adapters? Also, what's the shorter distance on an F150? Parking forwards and going accross the hood or parking backwards and reaching the front of the vehicle from the left side? My gut tells me 6 or 7 feet is the sweeter spot.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ll get one for the pure reason that it will allow me to pull into the correct stall!
I want to help keep the charging environment as happy and well-balanced for all :-)
Same! So many Tesla spots can be packed and I hate taking up two spots.
As a Tesla owner, I appreciate you, sir
These cables are needed if you are using a bike rack. Many Tesla chargers have a post that prevents backing close enough for the charger cable to reach past the bike rack. Although there are some Tesla chargers with a forward pull in, they are not everywhere and sometimes those chargers are used by Tesla drivers for the convenience of the driver that doesn't want to back into the stall.
And those of us that tow. Same situation with folks in the pull through spots where they exist. I'll be buying one to prevent blocking and/or odd angles of pulling in when towing.
@AaronandbriEnne Absolutely agree with both of you - when I travel with a double bike rack or have my cargo trailer attached, I have to shoot for the parking spot at the far end of the lineup to avoid blocking a charger (if it's configured as a typical 10-14 SuperCharger station).
So happy I sold my Tesla (for a massive loss) and got out of the home and public charging nightmare. I got back half my life now that I don’t have to spend it thinking about charging.
@JetFire9 I thank u for leaving the ecosystem....now there's one more open spot for the rest of us.
@ You’re gonna need it, sucker!! Every time I pass an EV charging station I laugh so hard thinking how I no longer waste my life there like you!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡💩💩💩💩💩💩
Thank you, Tom, and A2Z folks for taking the initiative!
Also, the extension will still be useful when you get a new vehicle that is already NACS.
Out of Spec guys will be wrapping a wet rag on these to keep them cool. 😂Seriously, this sounds like a great product. Tesla should do their own testing on this and bless it. It will really help life at their V3’s.
I really would like to see them release 2 different lengths instead of a compromise. Maybe a 4 footer and a 10 footer. I'd love to have one when I'm towing. Even if I was derated, it would be better than having to disconnect. Especially important when it is cold. Last thing I want to do is fiddle with my slushy trailer hitch, chains, and wiring.
F150 Lightning owner here. I’ve used Tesla Superchargers on road trips with few issues relating to access however, at Thanksgiving the number of people using Superchargers was crazy busy and finding an available stall was a challenge. An extension cable would have been very handy. As the population of BEV users grow at Superchargers the need for conforming parking will grow as well.
Manufactures get there act together, putting there charge port in the ideal location, super charger parking will no be a problem.
@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 there's still the use cases of bike racks and trailers which will become more common. The stations should just be pull-through the same as gas pumps always are, and they should all have longer cables on the chargers without an aftermarket extension cable.
@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 Oh here we go, typical Tesla fanboy blaming other manufacturer's for Tesla's terrible short cables and "everyone has to back in" design 🙄
@mjc0961
Oh here we go, typical freeloader, guest at super charges wanting the host to adapt to their needs.
Usually in the actual real world everyone has been fairly courteous when it comes to charging etiquette.
Thanks Tom, I was waiting with baited breath and glad a version of this DC charging cable may be coming to market soon.
A2Z is among the best in the EV industry: great products, real customer service and superb marketing. Thanks!
18:25 I'm surprised they didnt mention that as OEMs start using NACS native ports that doesnt mean they are going to put then on the drivers rear corner. So having NACS on both ends makes more sense
@@michaelwitkiewicz7052 as I think more about it, being NACS only makes the most sense for the long term. The CCS-native car market is relatively small compared to the entire EV fleet, so making a single cable type makes the most sense.
Also Tesla is adding longer cords to their chargers.
@@SueC56 The V4 will have longer cables, along with being in the middle of the parking spot. The V4 stalls are very few and far between now. It'll be quite a while before they are everywhere.
Buyer beware. If you buy a car with the charge port in the wrong location, that's on you. Yes, there will be superchargers (V4) where you'll be fine, but V3 will be around for a while, and you will have problems using them. That's fine as long as you don't whine about it later.
@@Chris-k7x9d Provided things don't get too derailed over the next few years, it isn't like Tesla will be the only game in town. No one who doesn't want to be will be beholden to V3 SCs or even SCs in general.
21:45 Parking every other stall even on V3+ also ensures that both Tesla cars have very easy door access including for older folks as well as kids that may not worry about door dings and other considerations.
There's that also!
I saw a comment that a Tesla station had the parking lines repainted to facilitate the shift over needed for a lot of non-Tesla vehicles. Very cost effective change if property managers were willing to make the effort.
@andreafj it's not possible for both Tesla vehicles and most non-Tesla vehicles to utilize the same spot for the same charger - it doesn't matter how the lines are painted. The cable cannot reach both.
I’m glad you mentioned the final version will be much much shorter. No need for one this long. Shorter should make it cheaper too.
Yup, we probably only need a cable that is the width or diagonal length of the hood. hopefully, they'll charge different prices for different lengths
I plan to tow cross country in our Silverado EV with a 27ft trailer, longer could come in handy to minimize blocking traffic.
I would like the longer cable for pulling a small trailer with my Model Y, which would put the charging port on the opposite corner of the car if I pull in nose first, too far for the 5-ft extension to reach, and would be the length of the trailer away from the port if I backed the trailer into the spot.
A 5 foot cable sounds good, but I would not make it any shorter. The fact that it is NACS to NACS is good, as I would like to use it with my Tesla. The reason a longer NACS to NACS cable would be good is for when I am trailering and might what to park in an aisle opposite the superchargers.
I’d like to see 10’ just reach when towing with my Y. 5’ May not be long enough to nose into a stall or angle into an end stall. Also for bike rack as well.
My 2¢
Thanks Tom and A2Z! I’m getting this as soon as it’s available. I’ve driven to a supercharger that indicated 4 of 8 available and had to wait.
A longer cable would be nice. It would be great for reaching ICE’d spots or when needing to park further away when towing. Would love to see a CCS option as well. Undoubtedly some will go the double adapter route to go CCS to NACS extension to CCS vehicle. We’re all stuck in adapter hell for some time to come still.
Tom charging in the snow for our benefit! Love it! Great vid!
TOM 👋. 💥. Genius invention. This would also be invaluable for people who are towing with their Teslas and there is no drive-through. The Tesla could find a place to pull up behind the superchargers or off to the side and not have to disconnect the trailer. I hope this product takes off because it is truly ingenious.
I sincerely hope this comes out soon. Thank you for the content you create. I have learned so much by your content.
I'm excited about the prospect of using an extension for my Lightning not only so I can avoid occupying two stalls, but also to make it easier to charge when pulling my small travel trailer (plus the bonus Robert said - pull in along behind the stalls where possible)!
Tom, Great video as usual. I look forward to seeing a video of a 5 foot extension cable working on a F-150 Lightning.
That's huuuuge. I can't wait for the shorter one to be available. I've signed up for notifications and thanks.
It looks like a anaconda and probably feels like one to most people!
I believe a lot of people are hung up on higher power for charging but most EVs peak out in minutes and that's at the very low end. If an EV has a very good charging curve, that's all you need. If you pull up where you can only charge at, say 120kw max, enjoy the extra time and breathe. We are so programmed to be rushing at just about everything that even my wife sometimes complains in the bedroom 😊
@@im4udevco do you think an extension might help? 😉
I am SO glad you checked for AC charging as it is a little too common for an ICE to be parking in the spot with the charger.
Also, if you have a trailer, you could park behind the AC charger on the street and plug in without having to unhitch, or block adjacent chargers.
Local tesla supercharger stalls are generally occupied with Teslas spaced with an empty between them making them of no use to our Bolt EUV. Also latest snow storm, plow trucks in the parking lots pushed snow into the chargers because they are inset with a curb on 3 sides....no way for a plow truck to clear snow close making every single charger in my zip code 65202 totally useless, could not get close enough to any supercharger. Looking forward to this cable.
Would be great to have longer versions for charging with a trailer. Also it would be good to have the CCS option so additional adapters (point of failures) would not be needed.
Good video! Glad to know about the product. I can imagine getting one of these to use with my e-tron, which has a chargeport in a location similar to your Ford F-150. The question of why the adapter is not built in was a good one, and I did not find the engineer's explanation to be compelling. Seems as if the real reason is to keep the price reasonable, and to promote sales of the adapters. My counter argument is that the more connections you have, and the more components, the less reliable the system will be.
One other comment is that I could see using this type of extension cable with other charging stalls besides Tesla. Some of the EA cables are pretty short, for example. The one time I had serious trouble with charging at an EA station was when the cable was being pulled tight in order to reach the e-tron chargeport. The car threw an error, and I had to use the emergency cable release, which I assume was because the cable was putting a side force on the chargeport that caused a poor connection.
I don't think they explained themselves well, but I do think they made the right decision. Having the adapter and extension as separate components has some advantages...
1) The NACS extension is future proof (CCS cars will be relatively rare in a few years and NACS will be ubiquitous). If it had CCS on one end, it would be useless in a handful of years.
2) No need to use the extension when it's not required. The adapter can be used by itself when the charger cable is long enough to reach without it. Less chance of throttling this way.
3) The extension cable can be shared by both NACS and CCS cars. For example, a family has a Tesla car and a CCS Rivian Truck. They go on road trips and use whichever makes the most sense for that trip. The extension (with or without adapter) could be used by either vehicle. The Rivian may need it for any V3 super charging station that is busy and the Tesla might need it if they have a bike rack/cargo tray on the back. The Tesla could even use the extension when a non-Tesla is blocking two charging spots (using the charging cable from the wrong spot) and there are no other spots open.
@@CL-gq3noI was thinking about this aspect too, as Tom explained the, “limited use case” for AC charging, at a Tesla Destination Charger for example. I have a Model X and a Rivian, so it would seem that an extension cable such as this could be used for either vehicle at a destination charger, as well as a DCFC, with appropriate adapter for the R1T.
Maybe you could test the reachability to an F150 Lightning at your local V3 station to confirm 5’ will be enough and let us know when you cover this topic again.
+1 for this
I like that the A2Z CEO and engineer came on your podcast. He’s also been fairly active on the Rivian Forum. I really trust his company and would never consider buying another charging accessory. I imagine his company took a pretty substantial financial hit when they decided to voluntarily replace everyone’s gen 1 adapter. But he put safety first and did the right thing. I honestly think that these A2Z extension cables will start selling before Tesla ever gets around to reconfiguring their SC networks. Until recently, I never had an issue with not being able to charge our Rivian at Tesla when on our road trips because the stations have always been typical only 50% occupied at any given time. That is mostly because most of our road trips are not in heavily populated areas. This past Saturday, however, I had a heck of a time finding a place to charge coming home from Indiana back to the West Chicago suburbs. I needed to stop at the Tesla SC starting in OakBrook, IL on a Saturday afternoon. This is in the middle of one of the largest retail zones in the Midwest. So needless to say, the station was about 75% occupied. So the Rivian didn’t stand a chance to charge there. I then drove to the nearest EVGO. By the time I got there, the one stall that was available had become occupied. I’m can see where having this extension cable could really be a game changer for those of us that are read-tripping our non-Teslas. I don’t see this problem going away any time soon.it’ll be at least until 2027 when Rivian starts really ramping up R2 shipments.
Some of your might remember in the news, January last year, when there was a heavy snow storm and deep freeze. All the Teslas waiting to charge and running out of battery. That was at this OakBrook, IL location. Heavily used.
thanks for the update. i've been waiting for this since it was announced a year ago.
Only makes sense to have extension cables for EV Charging. Great video Tom!
Thanks A2Z Amine Zitore and your new engineer for excellence with EV products.
As you know Tom Tesla Superchargers overseas where CCS2 is the standard they have been open for quite a few years now to non-Tesla's. :)
Excellent video. Covers everything we needed to know. I'll try to remain patient until May/June. Thanks Tom.
Another vote for longer option for towing.
Thanks for all of your vids Tom. They have helped immensely since I’ve become an EV owner this year. I love my 2023 Lightning ER and all of these videos are helpful.
Another thing to consider (as for not making one end CCS), several automakers will be moving to the NACS adapter and will likely still need the cable. Also, current Teslas may be towing, or have some equipment that might be in the way and need the extra length.
I'm assuming it will work on AC using a J1772 EVSE > Tesla adapter > Extension > Tesla vehicle? I can see this being useful at hotels or public stalls where the EVSEs are blocked and you need to charge a stall over, especially if you just keep this in your frunk/trunk.
Personally, I think the charging port should be put on the right side of the EVs in the USA since we hope to have charging on sidewalks someday. For cars that have sidewalks on the left side of the car, it should be on the left.
Montreal has tons of street side charging already and it is a pain and kind of dangerous when it's on the left. The cable sticks out into traffic as well
@Tazdeviloo7 Yup, the charging port should be on the side of the sidewalk and not on the side of traffic.
It made sense to have the gas filling port on the driver side because they filled up at the gas station pumps, but EVs are refueled differently.
The best solution is for auto makers to move the charge port to the right front. That solves the supercharger access problem, the towing problem and the curbside charging problem. Rivian should do that at the same time they switch to the NACS port.
Right front or rear left. The right side would be great for street parking.
I agree side walk side make the most sense. But even better would be to have two ports on the back left and right so you can pick either side. GM apparently just patented that. Companies could also do CCS on one side and nacs on the other.
Thanks for the review and asking the questions I had. I've been happy with my A2Z Typhoon and then Typhoon Pro and look forward to adding this product to the Mach E trunk!
I love having access to the Tesla supercharger network. I’ve never gotten any dirty looks double parking when the side charger is used. I’ve been educating Tesla drivers to leave the fare left station free. Several Tesla drivers have said they want a longer cable because they don’t like the torque with the cable pulling on there car if they don’t park exactly right.
It’s also a tripping hazard… someone’s gonna get their ass sued one of these days. Someone trips over said cable & fell down and hit their head and had severe consequences, like death. Their family is gonna be one of these super rich that just decided to take off on them and so then everything will have to be a pull through, but the idiots won’t do it until someone gets hurt.
i complain about the super charger prices that have slowly been creeping up but wow, i'm glad i don't have to pay out of network prices!
These extension cables will be a game changer.
As someone who tows often with my Rivian, this would be a huge help. I wish it was out sooner than summer. I have a few road trips planned in the next couple months that this would come in handy.
I actually have an extension for my home j1772 charger because I wanted to park on the other side of my driveway and the regular Chargepoint cable didn’t reach. It works perfectly
Yeah, AC extension cables have been available for many years now.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney But you've never reviewed any of them and they're too expensive to just take a chance on. :/
Gonna watch later but just here to announce that I finally got my adapter from Ford. Was on the list since March 2024. 🎉. At least it was free lol.
I'm curious about the signaling scheme of the derating. CCS uses a higher-level protocol (compared to J1772) to talk to the vehicle to negotiate parameters and such; is there another back-channel for temperature/thermal sensors to trip/derate the charger? I don't see how the thermal sensor would be able to negotiate a lower charging speed through the CCS signaling while also passing through communications to the vehicle.
totally need this, a rivian parked 3 inches away from me at a sc, he had the angle it to get to the sc, this will eliminate this issue
also have the ccs adapter built into the cable would be awesome
I've charged my Zero off Robert's Rivian when he was in CO. Good to see him again!
The real trick is can it reach a cybertruck or silverado ev if they pull straight in because they are towing
My main issue with these is that they need working sensors and active electronics to prevent overheating. Both the supercharger cable and the car's port are set up to not even start the session if they cannot confirm that their sensors are working. But the copper lines in these cables are connected through, and if the electronics are dead, there's nothing that prevents the energy from flowing.
Just wait for Tesla to slowly replace all v3 dispensers with v4 ones.
They need to make this with the CCS on one end so you don’t need an additional adapter. Just food for thought.
They answered that in the Q&A; they don’t think they’d sell enough, as well as it would make it harder to get a higher amperage rating.
Their explanation makes no sense
@ their answer doesn’t make sense because the A2Z adapter is 500A rated. No reason the NACS plug can’t be swapped out for their CCS plug.
@@ALRinaldibut this will add another failure point. So now you’ll be using an adapter and an extension. Seems overly complicated.
@@ericroe that's exactly mine and Tom's point. It doesn't make sense to have NACS to NACS plug that connects into a CCS1 adapter to plug into a CCS car. It should be straight NACS to CCS1 to plug directly into the car. There's no technical reason that makes sense. The business reason would be to simplify manufacturing and ensure the product is viable forever, but that's not what they said.
YES! Been waiting to see if such a cable would come to market. It will make a big difference for other EVs with charging ports in different locations. I think a 5' length would more than suffice for my EV. I just might have to buy one, but… in truth, I don't intend to use Superchargers except in a real emergency, with no CCS chargers available nearby.
I’m not sure if I’ll spend the money on this but it would be great for road trips. The only disadvantage I’ve run into with SuperChargers on road trips is on busy weekends, it is hard to really know if you’ll be able to charge a non-Tesla if the app says more than half of the stalls are in use. It also sucks to take up two spots when the stations are busy. The worst part is the Tesla drivers often do not realize that a wrong stall is in use until they park and get out.
As for why is it NACS to NACS if I have a 2025 Ioniq 5 the charge door is still in the wrong corner even though the spec is NACS.
I have an extension for regular level 2 J1 charging. Primarily for my own garage charging as my spot is too far from the EVSE but also for when travelling and dealing with NA cars "ICE"ing the chargers, or even EVs that block chargers and aren't using them.
Definitely worth to have this along with adapters in your EV.
Your J1772 isnt pushing nearly as much power as a DC fast charger.
@@jghall00 I know....I'll be looking into getting one of these as well as I intend to keep my EV long term. Hope these lock on both ends somehow.
39:02 How would this extension be used as described at a CCS (ChargePoint) station if it’s NACS connectors on both ends of the cable? Would you have to carry two CCS to NACS adapters? 😅
That's not really it's intended use because Chargepoint cables are much longer than Supercharger cables. But if you wanted to, you'd use a CCS1 to NACS adapter at one end, and a NACS to CCS1 adapter at the other end where you plug it into the car.
Yes the 350amps extension cord will only be for the V3 shorter superchargers. From what I'm reading, the 500amp 1000v V4 superchargers will have longer cables able to reach non-tesla ports.
Correct. But here's the current numbers: Roughly 400 to 500 V4 long cables in service and about 30,000 V2 & V3 short cables. So...
@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney ahhh, noted. I did read that the Tesla Diner/Drive-in Movie superchargers will all be V4 🤞🤞
Just picked up the 48amp j1772 extension for my house. A2Z is the best
The AC use case is handy for me too. I have a single charger in a driveway with 2 electric cars. If my wife parks too far up the driveway, my cable won't reach. I would love to buy one extension and use it for AC and DC charging cases.
This is fantastic! I would love it if they could combine the cable and CCS adapter into one unit.
Will 5 feet be long enough for the F-150? Wish you would have tested that vehicle.
Yes
This will be great for most EV's even the Hyundia Ioniq 5, Ioniq 9, EV6, EV9 etc even with the limited 350amp as most of these will not exceed 150KW well within the 350amp rating. At 5 foot it should be much easier to handle and yet work very well. Looking forward to the production review version!
This is freaking awesome 👏🏻 🎉😂 go Robert !! Hello from Colorado 👋🏻
Hi Caroline.
@ hi there how you been !
Thank you, this thing is so cool! Good job A2Z!
Love these innovations!
13:40 will it interfere with Tesla next to that cable on the way? seems very close .... but still better than nothing
you should take any loop out of the extension cable, you would be amazed how much the impedance of the cable change with only one loop at this rate of amps
At around 8:20 you are indicating to use an extension cable on AC charging. While it may work, please be advised that the NEC code stipulates that no cable should extend charging with any cable longer than 25’.
So while the extension cable is great, it’s most likely that it’s intended to be used with these already very short level 3 chargers cables. For this, I am very excited to purchase
First, that in NEC code relates to the manufacture and installation of EVSEs not their final use.
For example, nec may only allow me to have 8 receptacles on a 15amp breaker, but there's nothing wrong with having a bus bar after that, exceeding that limit, or having an extension cord...
Considering this is a a three hundred and fifty amp rated extension cord we are talking about you are beyond safe connecting it to a up to 80amp EVSE, furthermore, a lot of public L2 chargers are aren't 25 feet long, really I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find one that is.
Additionally, level two EVSE extension cables have existed like this for a long time for J1772 as well.
Thanks for clarifying! 😊
Question: I have a Nissan Ariya with a CCS port. Will this adapter work between the Tesla Charger and my vehicle? What is the make and model of the adapter. Ariya charging port is in the front end.
After towing a trailer and coming to the only supercharger with a drive in stall for miles around, only to find it taken by the one person afraid to back into the 7 other open stalls, I’ll buy this extension. Would take a lot of stress off
Tom, will you or have you looked at the cable for L2 charging off power pole chargers. What I have seen on some reports is these require the driver to bring their own cable. Not a bad idea as it will make theft of copper harder and eliminate cable being strewn about.
It would be great to have a combination extension and CCS adapter in one package.
i feel these add ons are all temporary and painful atm but 2-3 years from now, I hope, these won't be needed. Many other charging stations are nicely designed to reach any car length where ever the port may be. That is why, I would rather not charge at TSC unless its the last resort.
With Tesla plugs on each end, is there anything in place to stiop using two cables for extra reach?
NEED TO GET ONE FOR MY LIGHTNING
Would’ve been nice for all manufacturers to agree on a standard port location. My vote is for anywhere on the passenger side for safety reasons when charging curbside. It doesn’t look like good forethought when seeing a car charge and it places the driver close to oncoming traffic; the fatigue kills cables too. If manufacturers, like Porsche, want to offer an additional port on the other side, no problem.
Why not offer at least 2 lengths? Certify the longer cable version, as the shorter one should be good based on that. There's probably lots of situations where a long extension cable is needed besides dealing with the variety of charge port locations, also towing, big electric vans and utility vehicles.
They will if enough people ask for it
Another reason to not integrate the adapter into the cable is the increasing number of cables with NACS ports in charging stalls with longer cables like Tesla V4’s, Ionna, EvGo and ChargePoint. To access these from my CCS car, I will need the adapter, but i will not want to use the extension cable and risk possible de-rating of my charging session. Therefore, I need an independent adapter and I wouldn’t want to pay again for the cost of an integrated one.
Tom, thanks so much for the great info. Looking forward to the next update.
Tesla opened the Superchargers last year already. People have been charging with non-Teslas at Supercharging well before this year.
Interesting, A2Z site says this will be $285 when released. Not super crazy but too expensive for me considering I rarely DCFC and will only be charging at a SuperCharger as a last resort.
Like you asked, it will be interesting to see how Tesla responds to this. It's hard to imagine them or the other OEM's will officially support this, meaning owners will be on the hook if a charging session goes badly. Tesla doesn't even accept A2Z's adapters yet to my knowledge and this is an even wilder idea.
A 3ft one would all I would need for my Chevy Bolt
Would connecting the 2 end points with 2 smaller cables (with some management to keep them together) be more flexible than 1 large cable?
I have a new Lucid Air. The port is behind the driver side front wheel well. I don’t think a 5' extension cable will be long enough for me to charge either 'front in' or 'rear in' in the intended stall at a Tesla supercharger. Has this been vetted?
I believe it will be. But I will test it out. You may have to drape the cable over the hood, as opposed to having it go around the front facia
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughneyThank you!
since they started putting in new chargers with longer cables, I wonder how useful this would be. Especially if they retro fit the old ones
Is the ext cable locked while charging? Just thinking what happens if someone tries to steal it while I'm away from the car while it's charging.
Really looking forward to being able to use this on my ZDX with my Typhoon Pro!
I need an extension cable for my EV6 and EQS580. But, will wait for A2Z or a competitor to offer a 5 ft extender with CCS1 at vehicle side. This eliminates need for kluge adapter and is a far more elegant solution. Love the four dynamic sensors to manage overheat protection.
I wonder if UL Listing for outdoor extension cords can apply to this extension. BTW, as a former product manager, I sent numerous products to UL for listing. It’s expensive and time consuming.
Having an extension cord with different ends would not be a performance charging product, because it would be the slowest "adapter". While, yes, fixing the issue of charge port location, people would not be satisfied with an "adapter" that does half the charging speed than our competitors. The extension cord is not meant as a flagship product, it is meant for those who need it only. Having more than 350A without liquid cooling is practically impossible right now. For instance, the adapter is rated for 500A.
@ Mr A2Z, maybe I’m missing something, but it seems fairly simple. Continue to sell the 500A adapter for those who want high performance. Sell a 350A extension cable with CCS1 connector to those who want convenience over performance. I fit in this second category.
Will the cables be compatible with the Tesla adapters that Ford and other companies provided?
I'm going to buy this because it makes my life easier but imagine if you had to bring your own custom hosing to the gas station.
Imagine going to the gas station like 3 times a year
At least the I.C.E car builders only put their gas tanks on the rear on the left or the right of the vehicle, which made it so much easier for the gas stations to design a proper gas pump.
And don't take this the wrong way I love electric cars
@ ev chargers should have been built same way gas station were from start, it so stupid they weren’t and I just can’t see why they weren’t
The small scenario that you talk about is actually becoming a bigger scenario as I was traveling recently, and all the Tesla chargers were filled and what I consider failed is two Tesla chargers for one Tesla vehicle so everybody gets full voltage and one of them or two of them Were left alone off to the side because a nice vehicle was plugged in front of it and this happens quite often. So an extension cord for supercharging would be good for Tesla owners as well sadly.
I hope they will make one for a level 2 charger. A 12 KW version would be great and I could use my home charger when my wife parks her Y in the driveway!
It might be better to have a long one that could plug directly into future DC fast chargers. That means you don’t have to worry about vandals.
Just got email from Kia for my ev6 2024 I can order the adapter it takes two weeks to order it with you’re vin number and code to get it thought I let you know
Thanks Tom for this video. You are a trooper for filming this test in a snow storm. I have a Mach E and was hoping to see you test on your Lightning, which should be a worst case scenario. I will look forward to that coming test, while limiting the extension to 5 feet. Also, I don’t know that A2Z confirmed the 5 ft length of the final product. You may want to confirm that with them.
Tom, do you know if Lectron is working on a similar extension cord?
He mentioned extending CCS stations... can you give that a test using the two required adapters? Also, what's the shorter distance on an F150? Parking forwards and going accross the hood or parking backwards and reaching the front of the vehicle from the left side? My gut tells me 6 or 7 feet is the sweeter spot.
Is 5 feet going to be enough for your Ford Tom to charge in Tesla's intended stall?
They told me it will be. It will be close. I'll test it as soon as I get the short version.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney Thanks as always and I will be watching.
Would it work on a Tesla as a Level 2 (Tesla Wall Connector) extension cable???
oh you are gonna test it on the wall connector.... watching...