{A photograph} of a Tesla Mannequin 3 with a gasoline generator strapped to the again has been making the rounds on social media currently. Some recommend that it’s getting used to show the Tesla right into a hybrid by extending vary whereas others say that it’s merely being transported. Right here’s what we all know and what we don’t about this attention-grabbing picture.

It appears as if the primary sighting of this Tesla was on Twitter the place person Igor Sushko posted it on December twenty eighth, 2022. He particularly stated that it’s in Ukraine and that the automobile runs on electrical energy from a gasoline generator in Kyiv.

Having a transportable energy provide would positive be useful to electrical automobile homeowners in Ukraine proper now. The battle has resulted in a number of energy outages throughout the nation which might in impact depart EV homeowners with no solution to refill. Protecting a transportable generator with the automobile may clear up that downside.

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It’s value noting that the picture doesn’t present any form of conclusive proof that this generator is getting used to energy this Tesla although. The proprietor may merely be shifting the generator from one place to a different and it’s extremely unlikely that they’d be charging the automobile whereas shifting. In truth, Teslas can’t be charged whereas shifting with out some hacking.

On the similar time, it wouldn’t be completely stunning for this generator to be the backup technique of charging the automobile when it’s parked. From what we’ve discovered on-line, this generator seems to be a Konner & Sohnen BASIC KS 2800 C mannequin with a 15-liter (3.9 gallons) gasoline capability. It’s good for 220-volt output with a rated energy of two.5 kW and a most energy of two.8 kW.

That’s not quick sufficient to cost the Tesla rapidly however it’s sufficient to offer helpful vary given sufficient time. Notably, the concept of using a combustion engine to energy a largely electrified platform is nothing new. The Chevy Volt utilized a 1.4-liter engine to increase its vary and BMW did the identical factor with a small two-cylinder engine within the i3.

Extra not too long ago, Obrist created one thing comparable known as a HyperHybrid engine. Some people have even crafted their very own variations with one man touring some 1,800 miles with out having to plug in his Tesla Mannequin S.