Tesla prematurely reveals pricey power bank with wireless charging (Update: Price drop!)

Update, September 11, 2018 (05:30AM): Tesla prematurely revealed a 6,000mAh power bank with wireless charging last month, dubbed the Tesla Wireless Charger. It was rather overpriced at $65, especially compared to alternatives available on Amazon.

Now, the electric car maker has decided to drop the power bank’s price to a more reasonable $45, as spotted by The Verge. According to a Tesla email purportedly sent to consumers, the price drop is due to more power banks being produced. People who already bought the gadget will apparently receive a $16 refund.

We’re glad the company has opted for a more competitive price tag, as it definitely makes the Tesla Wireless Charger a more attractive proposition. But if you value capacity over design or features, you can also check out a few high-capacity power banks over here.

Original article, August 29 2018 (06:09AM): Tesla has previously toyed with rather pricey power banks before, such as November’s $45 PowerBank. Now, the company has decided to up the ante with the $65 Tesla Wireless Charger.

The electric car manufacturer briefly posted the product on its website (h/t: Apple Insider), before deciding to pull it. However, a cached version of the website reveals all the details, starting with the 6,000mAh capacity. This should be good for just under two charges if you’ve got a phone with a 3,000mAh battery.

The new charger has a few more tricks up its sleeve, such as Qi wireless charging support. The wireless charging tops out at 5W, which isn’t quite as fast as Samsung’s wireless charging pad (up to 9W) and other solutions on the market. But unlike Samsung’s charger, this one is portable, so there’s that.

Then there’s the integrated USB Type-C cable for wired charging, albeit at 5V/1.5A compared to 5V/2A on many bundled phone chargers nowadays. The Tesla Wireless Charger also has a full-sized USB port so you can charge it, as you’d expect from power banks these days.

It’s certainly a slick design then, but is it worth $65? A quick search on Amazon reveals a few power banks with wireless charging — for roughly $30 in many cases. And quite a few of these power banks offer 10,000mAh or higher capacity, giving you more charging for your buck. In other words, it seems like you’re paying for the design and Tesla name more than anything else.

What do you think of the Tesla Wireless Charger? Would you prefer to buy this over lesser-known brands? Let us know in the comments below! The charger isn’t available to purchase at the time of publication, but you can visit the Tesla Store via the button below anyway.