A random garage in Los Angeles had a decisive impact on every Tesla model ever built. It's Elon Musk's 'fault,' says former employee.
A garage in Bel Air, West Los Angeles, has had a remarkable impact on how the electric car industry has shaped itself in recent years.
A seemingly insignificant detail in Elon Musk's home has shaped how millions of cars are charged today.
For most car owners, the location of the charging port on an electric car is not something they think about. At least not for charging the car.
However, location plays a crucial role, especially when it comes to fast charging. For Tesla, whose charging network dominates the market, one would assume that there is a lot of analysis and focus group interviews behind this. But no.
Because in reality, it's much more personal and a relatively insignificant detail – namely what Elon Musk's garage looks like.
Peter Rawlinson, former chief engineer on the Tesla Model S project and current CEO of Lucid, has revealed that the placement of the charging port on Tesla cars was determined by Musk's personal preferences.
He says this in an interview with PC Magazine .
Rawlinson originally suggested that the charging port be placed on the left, just in front of the front door, to facilitate access when parking and connecting the charging cable.
However, Musk rejected the idea, saying it wouldn't work optimally in his garage in his house in Bel Air. The fact that the Tesla director apparently risked tripping over the cable closed the discussion.
That's why the charging port was placed on the far left of the Model S. A location that later became standard in all Tesla cars. And which the Americans haven't changed since.
The consequence was that all Tesla owners today have to back up when using Superchargers. Since Tesla dominates the charging infrastructure, this has had an impact on the entire part of the automotive industry that works with electric cars.
When Tesla opened its charging network to other car brands , new challenges arose. Since different car manufacturers have different locations for their charging ports, some cars have to park across multiple charging points to reach the cable.
Tesla has tried to solve the problem by introducing their new V4 chargers with longer cables. But there are still very few of the new V4 chargers.
To avoid chaos, Tesla has encouraged other automakers to place their charging ports either on the back left or front right of the cars.
One example is Lucid, which recently gained access to Superchargers. They have adapted their upcoming SUV, Gravity, to Tesla's charging network by placing the charging port in the exact same location as on the Tesla – on the back left.
According to Rawlinson, it was a necessary step to ensure compatibility with Tesla's Superchargers.
It's fascinating to see how a seemingly small, personal preference can shape an entire industry.
Elon Musk actually rented the house in Bel Air. But his garage has influenced how millions of electric cars are charged around the world.
A decision made on the basis of a temporary stay has led to a standardization that other manufacturers are now adapting to, whether they agree or not.