Fill 'er up: 'Leccy car firm Tesla brings back PUMP SERVICE

Charger plugs itself in

Elon Musk has posted a tweet confirming Tesla is working on a charger that will save you from having to get out of the car.

Btw, we are actually working on a charger that automatically moves out from the wall & connects like a solid metal snake. For realz.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 31, 2014

Given than it still takes 20 minutes to put a reasonable charge into a Tesla using the 120kW, and a domestic supply might take 20 hours, you’ll probably want to get out of the car anyway.

Yet if you arrive somewhere with kids and shopping, it’s a pain having to plug in an electric car and the benefits of this charger are real. This is especially true because the Tesla uses keyless go - which means you don’t even have to switch it off when you arrive. You just get out and it switches itself off, locks the doors and folds the mirrors as you walk away.

Of course, inductive charging would be even easier and it's something Qualcomm is working on, particularly for Formula E, but wireless charging has substantial transmission losses.

Tesla is also working on battery swaps, a system like the one employed by the failed Israeli company A Better Place.

The Tesla initiative harks back to the good old days when petrol stations had forecourt attendants. Those of us of a certain age will remember pulling up to the pump and saying “Fill her up, four star”. It’s something Shell has experimented with resurrecting. ®