Tesla Adds Wireless Smartphone Charger and USB-C Port to Its Model-3 Cars

As per new reports, Tesla has decided to add a new wireless smartphone charger and USB-C port to its all-new Model 3 cars built in the USA. These new models are made in its Fremont factory in California. While these features were already a mainstay in the Model Y cars, Tesla has decided to add them to the Model 3 as well. Furthermore, they will also be available in the Model 3s being made in China. Here’s a look at all the updates you need to know about the new car.

Other Models              

The company’s new car, the Model Y, reached American customers in mid-March. The car came with a Qi wireless smartphone charger, whereas in Model 3, the same option came as an add-on, and not an in-built option. Also, the company recently lowered the prices for three of their cars in North America, namely the Model 3, Model X, and Model S. It also slashed prices of the Model X and Model S in China as a way to boost sales.

However, Chinese-produced Model 3 did not undergo a price reduction. Experts believe that these price cuts will prove beneficial in improving sales as the auto industry has suffered a significant downfall due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Demand for new cars witnessed a massive drop in the first quarter of this year, with most people being stuck at home. 

Flirting With Controversy

If that wasn’t enough, Tesla and its eccentric founder Elon Musk have been featuring in newspapers for all the wrong reasons in the last few weeks. Musk stirred up great controversy when he fought against and admonished the decision to shut down his factory in Alameda County. The order to cease all operations came out on March 23rd, and the company battled with officials to resume operations and keep building cars. CEO Elon Musk even threatened the officials by promising to move the factory somewhere else if they did not reverse the stay-at-home order. He also filed a lawsuit and tweeted aggressively against the decision taken by the county officials.

Model 3 and Model Y

Tesla is planning to upgrade the Model 3 vehicles by introducing features that were a mainstay in the Model Y. Both the Model 3 cars, American and Chinese-made alike, will get new wireless chargers and USB ports. Model 3 and Model Y also share similar-looking interiors, with the newer version having more cargo space and third-row seats. When the Model Y hit the market in March, experts were surprised to see that the company had added Qi wireless phone chargers to all their cars. Bryan Finnegan, who got a new Model 3 last week, confirmed that the car comes in-built with these new features. This is a rare hardware upgrade for Tesla cars, as Model 3 has not seen any such upgrades since its launch in 2017.

Current Model 3 Owners

If the current Model 3 owners or people with an older model want a wireless charger in their car, they can order it online. However, in such cases, most car owners go for the Jeda wireless charger as it is cheaper by around $25. Furthermore, this charge allows your phone to be charged while in a landscape position. Tesla offers a wireless charger for $125 upgrade, whereas Jeda Products, an aftermarket company, has the same product for $99.However, such owners cannot make use of the USB-C port as it cannot be added. The next best thing possible is to add a Jeda Model 3 USB Hub to your car, which will allow access to more ports, including a C port and storage space for Sentry Mode or Teslacam. The additional space will help clear up your center console when using all these features.

In the first quarter, the electric-car giant delivered 88,400 vehicles suffering a 21% fall when compared to the previous quarter. However, this surprised experts, as most other automakers were left with steeper declines. During this period, the company put together 103,000 electric vehicles, which was 2% lower than the previous period. These upgrades will help make the car more attractive to customers. By proving backward compatibility, Tesla is ensuring that even the older models regain interest. It will also help make their assembly more efficient by making all these standard across models. These changes will also help some of the customers they lost due to the COVID-19, and it will be interesting to see if the move leads to more orders and customers.