One of the main focuses of Tesla vehicles is energy utilization. The manufacturers have utilized electric motor technology to enhance energy efficiency through the vehicle’s ability to recharge.
Keep reading to find out more about how these cars charge themselves.
Table of Contents
Here’s how Teslas charge themselves:
Tesla recharges itself while slowing down. The vehicle’s electric motor is connected to the transmission system. Therefore, it produces electricity which, in turn, recharges the battery. However, the charge is insufficient to fully charge the vehicle, and you would need an EV charging station.
How Does Teslas Regenerative Braking System Work?
Regenerative braking is an interesting technology whereby a Tesla driver can slow down the car without pressing the brake pad. Regenerative braking occurs when the driver stops pressing the accelerator.
The process triggers a backward rotation on the electric motor, thus slowing down the car.
Before October 2020, Tesla provided drivers with an option to choose between a slow and standard mode for the regenerative braking system. In the slow mode, the braking impact would be small, and the driver might not notice it in some cases. The mode wouldn’t stop the car, so the driver should be keen about using the brake pedal.
Read more here about how brakes work on electric cars.
In the standard mode, the braking impact would be more intense than the slow one. The standard mode has three options which include:
- “hold,”
- “creep,”
- and “roll.”
The hold option would bring the car to a complete stop, while the creep mode would only inch the vehicle forward after releasing the brake pad. Physics will do much of the work when you choose the roll option.
In 2020, Tesla removed the slow mode, allowing its drivers to use only the standard regenerative braking option.
The mode offers a lot of power efficiency and makes drivers feel safer than when driving under the low option. The decision allows drivers to use the manual braking system whenever they deem fit. It also favors the drivers who didn’t find the slow mode an effective braking system.
Can a Tesla Connect to the Charging Station by Itself?
Tesla vehicles offer plug-in and plug-less charging systems. The plug-less charging system allows your Tesla car to charge itself by parking it on a wireless charging pad. The car’s adapter receives the energy from the power sources and transfers it to the battery pack.
An hour’s charge over the plug-less charging pad equals approximately 20 miles of range.
You should also read our analysis here of how quickly a Tesla starts losing range.
The charging system is faster than the manual one, whereby the driver has to charge the vehicle by connecting its charger to the power outlet.
The plug-less charging system consists of three components. They include:
- a charging pad,
- a control panel,
- and a vehicle adapter.
The charging process begins automatically as soon as the vehicle is parked on the charging pad.
The charging system is highly effective because it eliminates the idea of forgetting to charge your vehicle. In the case of manual charges, you need to connect the charger to the power outlet and switch it on. If you forget any of the steps, your vehicle will not charge.
The best part about wireless Tesla chargers is that you can use them at home. Most plug-less charging systems used at the stations and at home are level two chargers.
These chargers can charge your Tesla vehicle approximately 15 times faster than the trickle chargers.
The level two chargers are ideal for individuals that don’t want to rely on supercharges. They also offer a discount for charging at night in the comfort of your home.
The charging speed of the plug-less charges depends on your vehicle’s power intake abilities.
For instance,
- the Model S has a standard charging capacity of 11.5kW and can charge a maximum of 32 miles per hour.
- Model S variants can accept up to 17.2kW, allowing it to charge approximately 52 miles per hour.
Do Tesla’s Regenerative Brakes Charge the Car?
The term regenerative is used to describe the brakes because they generate energy used in the vehicle. Regenerative brakes charge a Tesla vehicle because they convert kinetic into chemical energy, which is, in turn, stored in the battery.
The energy is later used in driving the vehicle.
When a car moves, it generates kinetic energy, which is used in various ways. The heavier and faster the vehicle, the more kinetic energy it would generate. Hence, the battery would store more charge than a light vehicle at a low speed.
For instance, some of the kinetic energy is used in heating the road, spinning various components in the vehicle, or being lost to the surrounding area.
However, it’s mostly converted into heat when you press the brake pads. The regenerative braking system utilizes this energy by converting it into chemical energy for storing in the batteries.
The energy stored from the regenerative braking system depends on where and how you drive the car.
While the system restores energy into your vehicle’s battery, it doesn’t produce much energy to keep your car running for miles. It’s only an effective technology in minimizing energy loss in electric vehicles.
What Models Have Regenerative Brakes?
Tesla uses the regenerative braking system on all its vehicles.
The Tesla cars have an infotainment system that allows drivers to choose their preferred settings. The braking system is a default setting.
In older models, drivers could choose between low and standard modes for the braking system. As mentioned above, these options determine the impact of the regenerative brakes.
In newer models, the regenerative mode is a built-in feature. Therefore, drivers don’t need to adjust settings to apply the braking system. The system allows for high energy efficiency in Tesla cars.
How Much Charge Do Regenerative Brakes Deliver?
The amount of charge the regenerative braking system delivers varies due to different factors. One of the factors is how you drive the vehicle. The most energy is generated when you slow the vehicle in advance.
An abrupt slowing would only deliver a small amount of charge to the batteries.
A heavy vehicle would have a lot of momentum and a high amount of kinetic energy to capture.
Therefore, it would generate more energy than light vehicles. Also, repetitive braking would save more energy than driving on the highway. Hence, regenerative braking is ideal for stop-and-go city driving.
Terrain also plays an important role in determining the energy you get from regenerative braking. Downhill driving allows you to use the brakes more, thus saving more energy than in upper hill driving.
The regenerative braking system captures approximately 80% of the kinetic energy released when slowing down a vehicle.
The system’s ability to capture back energy ranges from an efficiency of 16% to 70%. The percentage would depend on how the vehicle is being driven.
The vehicle can lose up to 10% of the energy during the conversion process and the same percentage d when the energy is brought back to acceleration. Energy efficiency doesn’t mean that it would increase your vehicle’s charge by 16% to 70%.
It means that a similar percentage of kinetic energy lost during the braking process is converted into power for storing in the battery. Hence, the more you brake while driving, the higher the vehicle’s energy efficiency would be.

