Tesla Acquires A Wireless Charging Startup

Tesla has officially acquired Germany-based wireless charging firm Wiferion.

By: Andrew Lambrecht

Aug 6, 2023 at 9:41am ET

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Germany-based EV charging company Wiferion specializes in wireless charging for EVs. The firm focuses on industrial equipment, specifically trucks and forklifts. Wiferion says its chargers can offer 93% efficiency and up to 40mm of tolerance when positioning a vehicle atop its chargers.

The startup has garnered significant attention, and Tesla was one of those interested. Tesla was always keen on engineering better chargers, especially with the robotic arm shown back in 2015. While the robotic arm would make charging more effortless, it was complex and arguably terrifying.

Hinted at Tesla's Investor Day early this March, the prospect of Tesla implementing this technology has been increasing. During the event, Tesla displayed a slide titled "Can't Forget To Do Cool S***." On that slide, Tesla showed an image of a Supercharging diner and what appeared to be wireless charging for home applications.

Three months after Investor Day, rumors began circulating that Wiferion was one of the companies Tesla was looking at for implementing this tech. In June of this year, Business Insider Germany reported that two Wiferion employees confirmed that Tesla would acquire the startup.

After the negotiations commenced, Tesla reportedly bought the wireless charging company for around $76 million, according to TeslaMag Germany. After the acquisition, the bottom of Wiferion's website was copyrighted to "Tesla Engineering Germany GmbH 2023 - Alle Rechte vorbehalten (All Rights Reserved)."

While further details are sparse, Tesla might become the first automaker to implement wireless charging technology on a mass scale.