What EV Charger Do You Need for a 2020 Tesla Model 3 Mid Range?
Forty-eight amps. That is the maximum speed for this car on Level 2 equipment. You need a 48 amp charger to fill the 72.6 kWh battery in 6.3 hours at home.
The numbers
| Maximum AC charging rate | 11.5 kW (48 A) |
|---|---|
| Charger size to buy | 48 A |
| Circuit breaker required | 60 A |
| Outlet / connection | hardwired (a 48 A EVSE must be hardwired -- no household receptacle is rated for it) |
| Charge port | NACS |
| Full charge on Level 2 | about 6.3 hours |
| Range added per hour (Level 2) | about 42 miles |
| Full charge on a 120 V outlet | about 50 hours |
| Range added per hour (120 V) | about 5.2 miles |
| EPA rated range | 264 miles |
| Energy for a full charge | about 72.6 kWh at the wall |
Why 48 amps and not more
The onboard charger pulls 11.5 kW max. Buying a smaller unit slows down your daily turnaround. Feeding it more than 48 amps wastes money because the car limits the intake. A 48 amp EVSE hits the exact ceiling of the onboard hardware. You get 42 miles of range per hour of charging this way.
What the install involves
Hardwiring is the only option here since no household receptacle handles 48 amps safely. You must pull a circuit with a 60 amp breaker. Call an electrician to run heavy gauge copper wire and land it on the main panel. They need to check that your service has spare capacity for the continuous load.
Chargers that match this car
Your car has a NACS port. The NACS units below plug straight in; any J1772 unit works with the adapter supplied with the car.
Native NACS plug, no adapter needed.
Dual plug: works with NACS and J1772 cars.
Tesla's own unit. Native NACS, hardwire only.
Worth having as well
Common questions
- Can I use a standard wall outlet?
- No. Level 1 charging on a standard household outlet gives you only 5.2 miles of range per hour and takes 50 hours for a full charge.
- What connector does the car use?
- The car has a NACS port. Tesla wall units plug straight in without any conversion.
- Why does the EPA charge time differ?
- The EPA test does not always run at the car's peak AC rate, which accounts for the longer 10 hour duration listed in official test schedules.
- Do I need an adapter for third-party chargers?
- A J1772 adapter ships with the car for third-party Level 2 units. You only need it if you buy a non-NACS charging station.
Other vehicles
Charging times derived from EPA data for the 2020 Tesla Model 3 Mid Range. Electrical requirements follow NEC 625.41, which sizes a circuit at 125% of a continuous load. Always have a licensed electrician verify your panel.