Tesla releases $550 AC charger with standard plug, not Tesla’s plug

Enlarge / This isn't the first time Tesla has sold a charger for non-Tesla EVs. While it costs $150 more than the Tesla-compatible version, it's still very competitively priced. (credit: Tesla)

Tesla has added a new 240 V AC charger to its offerings, but surprisingly it can't charge a Tesla unless you use an adapter. Instead, and as the name suggests, the J1772 Wall Connector uses the J1772-spec plug, which is standard to all EVs in the US other than Tesla EVs.

Based on Tesla's website, the $550 J1772 wallbox appears to have identical capabilities to the $400 version it sells with a Tesla plug on the end. Its charging output will depend upon the circuit breaker to which it is attached. A 15 amp breaker will translate to a maximum output of 12 amp and 2.8 kW; at the other end of the scale a 60 amp breaker allows for 48 amp and 11.5 kW. For comparison, the highly rated Juicebox AC charger costs $689 for the 48 amp, 11.5 kW version.

In fact, this isn't the first time that Tesla has released a wallbox with a J1772 plug. According to Electric, it did exactly that just less than a year ago. It used Tesla's second-generation wallbox internals and so was only capable of a maximum of 40 amp and 9.6 kW and lacked Wi-Fi, but it also cost significantly less than this new version, at just $415.