- Tesla's head engineer slammed a new extension cable for Superchargers
- The maker of the cable clapped back with assurances of safety and further testing
- It also accepted legal liability should something go sideways while charging
Remember when Tesla's head Cybertruck engineer dropped a hot take on Supercharger extension cables a few days ago? Wes Morrill advised "against" using them, resulting in the cable manufacturer, A2Z EV, reaching out to him to discuss specifics—now they're back with their own update.
In a recent series of posts, A2Z EV addresses the safety concerns first-hand, assuring the public that their cable does have safety measures built-in to protect against overheating and other issues brought up by Morrill.
That's not all. A2Z EV also doubled down by accepting legal liability should something go wrong and it determined to be caused by the extension cord. That's right, they're willing to put their money where their, erm, extension cord is.
First off, if you missed the original drama, let's recap.
Morrill took to X on Wednesday to give his opinion—as Tesla's lead engineer on the Cybertruck and an overall subject matter expert—that folks shouldn't touch a Supercharger extension cord, or any DC Fast Charger extension cable, with a ten-foot pole. The concern? When connected to high-output EV chargers, these kinds of extension cords could cause power issues, overheating, or even shorts (potentially resulting in fires). Overall, they have the potential to create an unsafe charging environment.
Well, that caused a bit of rippling across the EV community among non-Tesla owners who now have access to the Tesla Supercharging network. Since their vehicles have charge ports placed in locations not optimized for the Supercharger's short cables, these owners saw an extension cable as an opportunity to make the charging experience easier. Morrill's advice may have made them about-face.
A2Z EV chimed in after chatting with Morrill to assure the public that they have nothing to worry about. According to the company, their extension cord has multiple safety features built-in to prevent any sort of thermal issues. For starters, the cable has its own temperature sensors on both ends. A2Z says that if a sensor determines that the cable is too hot, it will shut down, potentially preventing the cable from overheating should the charging session go sideways. It's their way of clapping back by saying, "Yeah, we thought of that."
The company also confirmed that it would be held legally liable if things were to go awry and the cable was deemed to be at fault—be it for damage to the cars or from fires. That's a pretty bold statement, as it shows that A2Z is confident in its product even if Tesla's top Cybertruck engineer has his own concerns.
This debate isn't going to disappear overnight. Despite A2Z's reassurances, introducing any variable into an otherwise seamless charging experience could introduce some technical challenges that would otherwise go unnoticed. The question of whether or not these cables affect the charging process is still valid. Plus, if something goes wrong, would Tesla void a car's warranty, or an insurance company deny a claim?
For now, A2Z EV says that it won't release its product without extensive testing. It also says that it's open to working with Tesla to ensure that its product meets its standards. Keep in mind that Tesla is also building its own extension cable, so we're not sure how much Tesla would be willing to eat into sales of its own first-party product.
Even if the company determines that this cable is safe for release, it now has to fight past the stigma introduced by Morrill's recommendation. And that's not to say that Tesla might not introduce some sort of detection method in the future that disables the cable for perceived safety purposes. Regardless, this certainly won't be the last time we hear about the Supercharger extension cable debacle.
