Since the original Model S debuted, all Tesla charging ports are in a deliberate spot on the left rear corner. Tesla Superchargers being designed for that location, making them a pain to park at or use in other electric cars thanks to the placement and length of the charging cords. Why did Tesla choose that particular spot? We now know the answer thanks to the CEO of rival automaker Lucid, and it’s wild.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson is no stranger to EVs. Before joining Lucid as CTO in 2013, Rawlinson was chief vehicle engineer for the Model S at Tesla. Being chief vehicle engineer, Rawlinson was involved with nearly every mechanical detail of the Model S, and as you can imagine he and Musk didn’t see eye to eye on everything. Recently Rawlinson sat down with PC Magazine and detailed how Musk chose the spot for Tesla’s charging ports.
In his meeting with Musk, Rawlinson suggested that the charging port for the Model S be located on the left front fender of the car due to how Americans drive.
I told him, look, it [should be] the front fender on the left-hand side. Most Americans drive nose in rather than parallel park. And if you drive nose in, you want the charge port on the front. You don’t want a long, dirty old cable coming past the doors. And you don’t want to put the charge port on the very front, like the Nissan Leaf, because it’s a vulnerable spot. You can have a slight bump or fender bender, which could mean you couldn’t open it if it was damaged.”
So, I chose the spot just behind the front of the left hand wheel, just in front of the driver’s door, exactly where it is on the Lucid Air for the same reason.
Musk didn’t agree with that, of course. Rather than approach the problem from a broad engineering and consumer-oriented perspective, Musk’s stance was based on his personal experience. Specifically, it was all because of the garage layout in a house he was renting in Los Angeles.
Well, that wasn’t acceptable to [Elon]. He said it wouldn’t suit the layout of his garage in Bel Air. So I said, ‘Well, where do you want it, then? What suits the layout of your garage in Bel Air?’ He said it’s going to be on the rear because he could trip over the cable. He was renting the property, and he didn’t even own the place, but we put the charge port on the Model S on the left hand rear because of the layout of his rented garage in Bel Air!
Had Musk not been a know-it-all and listened to Rawlinson, Tesla charging might be a bit more convenient for all makes. Now, because of a garage in a house in Bel Air, every Tesla owner makes an extra step when charging because they have to back in, and most non-Tesla EVs that use a Supercharger has to park awkwardly to charge. As the Tesla-style NACS port becomes adopted by basically every automaker, lots of these companies are deciding to put the charging flap in the same location as Tesla, Lucid included. I think the world would be better off if every automaker just came to an agreement to place EV charging ports in the same spot, regardless of make or model.