Here's your daily reminder that Elon Musk is from the future, and possibly not from this planet: he just tweeted that Tesla is working on an automatic charging system that will extend from the wall on its own and connect to a Model S "like a solid metal snake," adding that it would work with all existing Model S vehicles on the road. It's not clear whether such a system would be designed for Supercharging stations, home use, or both.
Btw, we are actually working on a charger that automatically moves out from the wall & connects like a solid metal snake. For realz.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 31, 2014 Musk had joked that he'd like to see such a system back at the launch of the P85D in October. At that same event, Tesla had talked about autonomous driving hardware that had recently been integrated into the Model S; one new feature was an automatic, electrically actuated charger port door. The CEO noted that the goal was for the car to be able to drop its driver off then automatically park itself in a garage, and the automatic door could be part of a self-charging system — but this "solid metal snake" can apparently work with existing cars that don't have the automatic doors.
Given Tesla's recent conservatism toward long-promised battery swaps, it's worth noting that "working on" something doesn't guarantee the company is going to launch it quickly or at all. Still, if this happens, let's be thankful that Musk is terrified of AI — an articulating, artificially intelligent solid metal arm with a stun gun on one end doesn't sound like much fun at all.
Given Tesla's recent conservatism toward long-promised battery swaps, it's worth noting that "working on" something doesn't guarantee the company is going to launch it quickly or at all. Still, if this happens, let's be thankful that Musk is terrified of AI — an articulating, artificially intelligent solid metal arm with a stun gun on one end doesn't sound like much fun at all.
