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Rumors circulating on the web suggest that this is now a hybrid in response to unpredictable Ukrainian power grids
by Stephen Rivers
2 hours ago
by Stephen Rivers
A photograph of a Tesla Model 3 with a gasoline generator strapped to the back has been making the rounds on social media lately. Some suggest that it’s being used to turn the Tesla into a hybrid by extending range while others say that it’s simply being transported. Here’s what we know and what we don’t about this interesting photo.
It seems as though the first sighting of this Tesla was on Twitter where user Igor Sushko posted it on December 28th, 2022. He specifically said that it’s in Ukraine and that the car runs on electricity from a gasoline generator in Kyiv.
Having a portable power supply would sure be beneficial to electric vehicle owners in Ukraine right now. The war has resulted in multiple power outages across the nation which would in effect leave EV owners without a way to fill up. Keeping a portable generator with the car could solve that problem.
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It’s worth noting that the photo doesn’t provide any sort of conclusive evidence that this generator is being used to power this Tesla though. The owner could simply be moving the generator from one place to another and it’s highly unlikely that they’d be charging the car while moving. In fact, Teslas can’t be charged while moving without some hacking.
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At the same time, it wouldn’t be totally surprising for this generator to be the backup means of charging the car when it’s parked. From what we’ve found online, this generator appears to be a Konner & Sohnen BASIC KS 2800 C model with a 15-liter (3.9 gallons) gasoline capacity. It’s good for 220-volt output with a rated power of 2.5 kW and a maximum power of 2.8 kW.
That’s not fast enough to charge the Tesla quickly but it’s enough to provide useful range given enough time. Notably, the idea of utilizing a combustion engine to power a largely electrified platform is nothing new. The Chevy Volt utilized a 1.4-liter engine to extend its range and BMW did the same thing with a small two-cylinder engine in the i3.
More recently, Obrist created something similar called a HyperHybrid engine. Some individuals have even crafted their own versions with one man traveling some 1,800 miles without having to plug in his Tesla Model S.
