Tesla Will No Longer Sell Cars With Charging Cables, CEO Elon Musk

Like Apple, Tesla will now require you to buy a charger separately for your car. Musk said the accessory will be discounted from $75 to $200.

Tesla owners often charge their cars at Supercharger stations, so a cable isn’t strictly necessary.

Tesla fans often say that the company is a tech company, not a car company. By taking a page from Apple’s playbook, Tesla CEO Elon Musk proved them right.

In a series of tweets Saturday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company was no longer including charging cables with electric cars. A worldwide outcry ensued when Apple stopped including wall adapters with iPhones in 2020.

Apple said at the time that the change would enable it to use less packaging on the iPhone thus reducing its environmental impact. A similar justification was provided by Musk, who said that including the mobile connector “seemed wasteful,” given that “usage statistics were super low.”

Tesla owners do not have the luxury of having a charging brick lying around. Tesla’s mobile connector is not absolutely necessary and some owners may never use it.

Tesla includes a cable that connects to a standard outlet and completely charges a car very slowly, adding just a few miles to the range per hour. Alternatively, Tesla offers a higher-capacity charger for $495, which owners can install at home. Many Tesla owners choose to charge at high-powered Tesla Supercharging stations. Portable charging cables can still be useful in a pinch, especially if an owner finds themselves far from home or a public charging station.

The trunk or frunk of almost every electric vehicle comes with an at-home charging cable.

The mobile connector is currently sold out on Tesla’s website, but it is unclear how long that has been the case. Musk said the price of the mobile connector will be dropped by $75 – to $200 – and “make it easy to order with the car.”