Tesla announces its own interpretation of the AirPower charger, which Apple has dropped

The Tesla Wireless Charging Platform comes with a technology called “FreePower” and can charge up to three devices simultaneously.

Compatible with the Qi charging standard, the new Tesla accessory can send up to 15W of power per device.

With a design inspired by the famous Cybertruck, the gadget is certainly intended as an accessory for Tesla fans, electric car owners or not. Certainly many cues from the automotive world are taken, such as alcantara leather for the phone’s seating area and aluminum construction with a matte-black finish. In addition, the table stand is just attached with magnets, and can be pulled out for a slightly more compact footprint.

As for “FreePower,” the name is not for some power-free technology, but an innovation brought about by Tesla engineers that eliminates the need for precise device alignment. So you can place your phone anywhere on the charging surface without the efficiency of power transfer suffering.

According to the video posted on Tesla’s website, the Wireless Charging Platform uses no fewer than 30 coils, arranged in a staggered pattern to form a charging surface with the most even coverage. Interestingly, the design is very similar to the one selected for the AirPower accessory, and it remains to be seen if Tesla engineers have found a solution to the limitations that led to Apple’s product abandonment. According to details obtained from behind the scenes at Apple, the company discovered that by using so many coils the charging cradle was turning into a mini-platter that could both destroy the devices it was charging and present a fire hazard. With too much power consumption and prone to overheating, the AirPower accessory simply wasn’t practical, so Apple canceled plans to launch it.

It remains to be seen whether the Wireless Charging Platform alternative will make it beyond the prototype stage. Apparently, Tesla plans to ship the retail version of the product starting in February 2023.