Automotive

Tesla's serpentine robotic charger snakes its way into a Model S

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Tesla's prototype robotic charger snaking its way into a Model S
Tesla's prototype robotic charger snaking its way into a Model S
Tesla's prototype robotic charger snaking its way into a Model S

In Elon Musk's weird and wonderful future, rockets will land on barge ships, people will be slung between cities in vacuum tubes and giant metallic noodles will autonomously probe your Tesla Model S to recharge its battery.

Recently, the Tesla CEO has started to hint at the type of autonomous features that may make their way into the company's cars. These have included software updates that would allow a certain degree of autopilot and an auto-summoning capability where the car drives itself from a parking spot to pick you up, kind of like a robotic valet service.

But in Musk's mind, even the charging process should take care of itself. He first revealed the company was working on an automated charging solution in a tweet in December.

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

And the company has now released a short video of this creepy charging centipede in action. The prototype stands by harmlessly until the charging port flicks open, at which point it appears to sense the opportunity and go in for the kill. The blue light changes to a flickering green to indicate charging has begun.

That's about all we know for the time being. The prototype does seem to function as intended, and if does find its way into the garages of Model S owners it might mean never waking up to a flat battery again.

You can check out the prototype in action in the video below.

Source: Twitter

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9 comments
Fusionmkx
Why not use a 6-axis robotic arm? Far less complex.
Robert Fallin
...or scratch your paint, take out an eye, etc. Why not just go with wireless charging, Mr. Musk?
frogola
that could turn into a mechanic working all night long on your car while you sleep. now add a 3d printer to make parts for it.
Bricorn
That's............ rude.
I wonder if they cuddle afterwards. :)
overbyte
Looks like that should be an adults-only video! ;-)
Derek Howe
@Robert - because wireless charging is inefficient, roughly 70%. That doesn't matter much when your charging a small battery in a phone, but a car is another story.
Stephen N Russell
Nice, for heavy use charging stations should EV prod ramp up nationally alone
Leonard Foster Jr
Go wireless no need for this item.
Dr-Zin
Better not bend over in that garage. Cool to watch, Dr. Octo lost an arm.