Hot Temps Derate Tesla Superchargers for Rivian, Ford EVs

My buddy Kyle Conner from Out of Spec Studios reported that he had been experiencing issues with Tesla Superchargers derating (reducing output power depending on the ambient conditions which in this cast would be extremely hot temperatures) Rivian and Ford vehicles. This experience has happened with both Tesla Magic Dock chargers and normal V3 Tesla Superchargers with the NACS adapter.

.@TeslaCharging Supercharger Magic Dock huge derating with Rivian.

After a couple of minutes we derate to ~300A on multiple stalls and we saw the same behavior from another R1S.

This is not unique to this station in Moab but we’ve been seeing large derates on Superchargers at… pic.twitter.com/0DniRU84go

— Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner) June 15, 2024

What happens is simple: Plug in the Rivian vehicle and begin charging, within a few minutes you get a message in the Rivian vehicle saying “Limited by charging station” meaning the vehicle is willing to accept more power but the charging station does not want to provide anymore. Within a few minutes, the charger would derate to around 300 Amps (from the max allowed 500 Amps) on multiple charging stalls in multiple sites across the country where the ambient temperature is hot.

When I saw Kyle’s post about this, I sent him a message letting him know that I was experiencing the same thing today since I was traveling from Orlando, FL to Asheville, NC. I utilized some Tesla Superchargers in 100ºF plus degree weather. Within a few minutes, I would get the same message while charging and my charging rate would drop, which would extend my time at the Tesla Supercharger.

So what’s the temporary solution? For now, the temporary solution that Kyle and others have tried to do is take a towel (or sock), soak it in water, and wrap it around the handle that is connected to your vehicle. Within a few minutes, the message would go away and speeds would improve.

As a note, many Tesla owners have experienced similar issues and as a result, have also used the wet rag tip to solve it so while this isn’t necessarily new, it’s useful.

We have figured out the cause of the massive derates!

Handle temperature strikes again – seemingly worse with the adapter than charging NACS natively.

Either lower max temp limits when an adapter is recognized by Tesla or it heats up quicker – or both 🔥 https://t.co/RViVOwPu4R pic.twitter.com/C7OmNTR7gz

— Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner) June 15, 2024

The actual solution is for Tesla to fix this and allow higher temperature limits when an adapter or Magic Dock is being used. A variety of other DC Fast Chargers do this and as a result, you get a quicker charge and a better overall experience.

I truly hope Tesla can fix this issue for current V3 Superchargers and that this isn’t a problem on newer V4 Superchargers.