What EV Charger Do You Need for a 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid?
Your home panel can output far more juice than this car can swallow. The 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid caps its onboard charger at 48 amps. Buying a massive 80-amp charger is a waste of cash. The car ignores the extra power anyway.
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 10.0 hours |
| Range added per hour (Level 2) | about 39 miles |
| Full charge on a 120 V outlet | about 80 hours |
| Range added per hour (120 V) | about 4.9 miles |
| EPA rated range | 396 miles |
| Energy for a full charge | about 115.4 kWh at the wall |
Why 48 amps and not more
Feed the car a 48-amp Level 2 circuit and it drinks at 11.5 kilowatts. That adds 39 miles of range every single hour. A bigger breaker changes nothing because the onboard hardware throttles the intake. You hit a full battery in 10.0 hours flat. Anything smaller drags out the wait time without saving you on hardware costs.
What the install involves
You need a 60-amp circuit breaker paired with heavy-gauge copper wiring to run this setup right. A 48-amp continuous load requires a hardwired connection because household outlets melt under that kind of heat. Hire a licensed electrician to pull the permit and run the line directly to the wall unit. Do not try to DIY the high-voltage side unless you want a burnt garage.
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 plug this into a normal wall outlet?
- Level 1 charging gives you 4.9 miles of range per hour. A full tank takes 80 hours that way.
- What plug does the car use?
- Tesla vehicles use the NACS connector. The Tesla Wall Connector is native, and a J1772 adapter ships with the car for third-party Level 2 units.
- Why does the EPA charge time show 15.0 hours?
- The EPA test does not always run at the car's peak AC rate. Real-world max charging finishes the job in 10.0 hours.
- Do I need to buy the Tesla Wall Connector?
- It pushes the exact 48 amps your car needs through a 24.0 foot cable. Any unit matching those electrical specs will work fine.
Other vehicles
Charging times derived from EPA data for the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid (covering 2 EPA trim listings). Electrical requirements follow NEC 625.41, which sizes a circuit at 125% of a continuous load. Always have a licensed electrician verify your panel.