Is Tesla's New Wireless Charging Platform Worth The $300 Price Tag?
Elon Musk has displayed an uncanny knack for hawking quirky accessories from his portfolio of brands. Early on, there was Boring Company's $500 Not-A-Flamethrower which was little more than a gussied-up propane torch from a hardware store. And who could forget the Tesla red satin short shorts for $69.420, emblazoned with the alphanumeric "S3XY" on the back? Kudos if you quickly figured out what S3XY represents.
Now, Tesla is bringing you a wireless charger that it says, "provides 15W of fast charging power per device for up to three devices simultaneously" and admittedly, it's a pretty darn good one. Succeeding where Apple failed with its AirPower mat, Tesla's simply named Wireless Charging Platform utilizes technology licensed from FreePower, a company formerly known as Aira. In 2019, Aira cofounders Eric Goodchild and Jake Slatnick made an impressive presentation on the television show Shark Tank, securing an investment from three of the five sharks.
A year after Shark Tank, the company rolled out its first wireless charging pad called the Nomad Base Station Pro. While the product received generally positive reviews, its $229 price tag was criticized as being expensive. At $300, Tesla's Wireless Charging Platform is more expensive still. Though to be fair, the Tesla charger has FreePower 2.0 technology, which increases the number of charging coils from 18 to 30, ensuring that your phone or other device will charge regardless of its orientation or where it's placed on the pad.
Even the wall plug is stylish
If there's one area where the Tesla charging platform's price is potentially justified, it's got to be the styling, which is modeled after the company's long-awaited dystopian Cybertruck. The charging pad itself is a sturdy block of aluminum that measures 8.6 by 5.1 inches or about the same dimensions as a letter-sized sheet of paper that's been folded in half.
The charging surface is covered with Alcantara suede fabric which serves the dual purpose of protecting your devices from scratches while also preventing them from sliding around. The charging pad can be used with or without a magnetic stand that props it up at an angle. The entire affair is angular and durable looking, indeed like the Cybertruck. Even the USB-C wall plug has a multifaceted, chiseled appearance, and any excess from its 60-inch cord can be discreetly stowed inside the bottom of the stand.
All that considered, the Wireless Charging Platform is almost certainly still overpriced by some margin — especially since it can't charge Apple Watches or any other smartwatch — but the same argument could be made for the brand's electric cars. Clearly, there is an audience for both who appreciates and is willing to ante up for the minimalist Tesla aesthetic and a certain air of exclusivity. To wit, the device is currently sold out on Tesla's website and is reselling for $500 or more on sites such as eBay.