Just looking at Tesla's own words -- namely, the launch-event press release and the
listing for the second-generation UMC adapters -- and then referencing the picture that
@MelindaV highlighted above, I'm in the "something doesn't add up" camp. The "facts" before us appear to be:
- Model 3 LR can charge at up to 37 miles/hour (@ 40A / 240V)
- Model 3 S can charge at up to 30 miles/hour (@ 32A / 240V)
- Included 2G UMC has a maximum output of 32A / 240V
- Model 3 (LR, at least) has a 48A on-board charger
The "home charging" rates specified in the press release strike me as awkwardly worded and ambiguous, but given that the numbers themselves have been out in the wild for a month now, I'd fully expect them to be correct. In other words, Tesla has had plenty of time to say, "Oops! Just kidding, the Model 3 LR can charge at up to 45 miles/hour @ 48A / 240V!" (Unless, of course, you believe this is another anti-sell conspiracy, but we'll put that notion aside...
)
Next, let's consider the 2G UMC being limited to 32 amps for NEMA 14-50 and 6-50, versus 40 amps for the first generation. The evidence for this claim is a footnote in the Shop Tesla page for the 2G UMC's NEMA adapters. Given that it's just a footnote on a tangentially-related item, is this information reliable? And why would the amperage have dropped from 1G to 2G anyway? My theory is that the new "pigtail adapter" design was intended to help the UMC plug into outdoor/weatherproof NEMA 14-50 receptacles without leaving the lid propped open (as is often the case with the bulkier 1G UMC 14-50 adapter), and in slimming the design, they needed to reduce the max current to achieve the desired factor of safety. (Bonus: it complies with Canada's electric code too!) So, yes... the 2G UMC is likely limited to 32A output.
Finally, let's look at the 48A on-board charger claim. Given that the base Model S comes with a 48A charger, and that we've seen "48A" as a maximum charging option in the UI, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Model 3 (LR) is also equipped with a 48A on-board charger. Of course, it's worth noting that, just because the charger itself
can pull 48A continuous doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of the charging hardware can as well. (e.g., maybe the larger geometry of the 2170 cells creates a bottleneck with thermal management, which might explain the differences in max charging rates between the two pack sizes). But if there is a bottleneck elsewhere, then why does the charging UI show 48A as an option? Why not show 40A?
To me, the 48A charging setting in the UI seems to the puzzle piece with the least-best fit. I think it's possible that the "48A" you see in the Hyperloop picture is nothing more than an oversight that slipped under a project manager's nose. Perhaps Tesla originally intended for the Model 3 LR to be chargeable at 48A, and thus designed the UI to that spec, but later dialed it back to 40A in RC testing, and the car in the picture was running an outdated software version. Or maybe a key piece of information was simply lost in translation between the car's hardware specs and the UI design team, and it hadn't been corrected as of that picture. As much as I'd like to think that these types of missteps would never happen post-July 28th, they seem more likely to me than Tesla issuing an erroneous press release and leaving it uncorrected over an entire month. (The fact that the Model 3 is still undergoing what essentially amounts to internal beta testing might also have kept the standards around software updates relatively relaxed.)
So, in summary, my reconciliation of the "facts" in question are:
- Model 3 LR can charge at up to 37 miles/hour (@ 40A / 240V) via Wall Connector, or at 30 miles/hour (@32A) via 2G UMC
- Model 3 S can charge at up to 30 miles/hour (@ 32A / 240V) via Wall Connector and 2G UMC
- Included 2G UMC has a maximum output of 32A / 240V by design
- Model 3 (LR, at least) has a 48A on-board charger which is not fully utilized, and this reality is not yet reflected in the UI
Yes, I could be wrong... but until we receive additional clarity, this is how I'll think about this without letting my head hurt too much.