Tesla Model 3 EV Charging Cable

Charging your Model 3 at home

Tesla publishes both numbers for this car: 7.4 kW at 32 amps on a single phase supply, and 11 kW at 16 amps per phase on three. A British house has one phase, so 7.4 kW is the figure that applies on your driveway and the 32A single phase cable delivers all of it.

The battery decides how long, not how fast. A Rear-Wheel Drive car is around 57 kWh usable and a Long Range around 75, so the gap between them is roughly two and a half hours on the same cable.

The port is on the kerb side, not the driver side

Tesla's own manual puts it plainly: the charge port is on the left side of the car, behind a door that forms part of the rear tail light assembly. On a UK right hand drive Model 3 that is the nearside, the kerb side, and it does not swap when the steering wheel does.

That matters for length. Reverse onto a drive with the wall box on the nearside and 5 metres reaches easily. Park nose in, or charge at the kerb from a box on the house wall, and the lead travels the length of the car, which is a 10 metre job.

How long a full charge takes

Hours come from dividing the pack by the power the car actually draws, with 13 per cent added for losses. Tesla does not publish battery capacities, so the kWh figures here are independent estimates and the times are close rather than exact. Range is up to 319 miles WLTP on the Rear-Wheel Drive and 421 on the Long Range. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh.

How these cables are built

It is a CE marked IEC 62196-2 cable, IP55 against the weather, rated to work between -30C and +50C.

Three pin construction follows IEC 62752, CE marked, IP67 rated, usable from -30C to +60C. Two year manufacturer's warranty, free next working day UK delivery and 30 days to send it back.

Related: Tesla Model Y EV Charging Cable, and Tesla charging cables for every other model we cover. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Tesla Model 3 charging cable questions

Which cable does a Tesla Model 3 need?

A Type 2 to Type 2 cable, 32A single phase for home use. Tesla quotes 7.4 kW at 32 amps single phase for this car, and that is the most a UK house supplies, so the 32A lead is the fastest useful cable you can own.

Which side is the Model 3 charge port on?

The nearside, the kerb side, built into the left rear tail light cluster. Tesla's manual states the left side of the car, and the port is on the left of the body whether the car is left or right hand drive.

Will a three phase cable charge it faster?

Only where three phases reach the socket, which usually means a workplace. There the car takes 11 kW and a Long Range drops from about eleven and a half hours to seven and a half. At home you get 7.4 kW from any cable.

Does a Model 3 come with a cable?

Not the Mobile Connector, which Tesla has sold separately in the UK since April 2022. Cars often come with a Type 2 lead in the boot, but nothing is guaranteed, and used cars frequently arrive with neither.

Can I use it at Superchargers?

You do not need to. Superchargers and other rapid units have their own lead attached. Your Type 2 cable is for home wall boxes and the untethered Type 2 posts that cover most car park and on street charging.