Tesla Sells Wiferion Wireless Charging Startup But Keeps Its Engineers

Does this mean that work will continue on the teased wireless vehicle charging pad?

By: Iulian Dnistran

Oct 12, 2023 at 9:27am ET

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Tesla’s foray into the wireless power delivery systems was a short one, but that doesn’t mean that the contactless vehicle charging pad that was teased during the company’s Investor Day event back in March is dead.

According to The Robot Report, Wiferion, a German wireless charging products start-up that was acquired by Tesla this summer for an undisclosed sum, has been sold to German-based Puls Power, which makes DIN rail power supplies.

However, as per the source, which quotes a person with knowledge of both changes of hands, Wiferion’s engineers will stay at Tesla, as they are not included in the deal with Puls. In other words, the maker of the Model 3 hasn’t given up on the idea of topping up an EV’s battery without the use of cables, although we still don’t know if a Tesla-branded vehicle will ever be capable of being recharged wirelessly from a Tesla-branded power supply.

Back in 2015, the Elon Musk-led EV maker showed a prototype of a charging robot that was capable of finding its way to the charging port of the Model S, but the idea was never put into mass production.

Fast-forward to March 2023 and a teaser image of a wireless charging pad that was apparently topping up the batteries of a Model S was shown for a brief moment during the manufacturer’s Investor Day event, next to a photo of a Tesla Diner.

Tesla Wireless Charging Tease On "Cool S***" Slide

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Wiferion’s acquisition followed, but the Austin-based company never revealed its intentions for the German start-up that began a pilot program in the US through a global licensing agreement with WiTricity, modifying several EVs, including a Tesla Model 3, to accept up to 11 kilowatts of wireless power from its Halo system.

In related charging news, Tesla’s wired Supercharger network recently installed its 50,000th stall and the first V4 Supercharger stalls – that are expected to offer over 250 kW – are currently being installed in the United States.