Unveiled At The IdeenExpo In Hannover, Tesla’s Solar Powered Range Extender Trailer

The electric vehicles out there are already a major progression in the auto world as it is, though solar powered EVs could be the next thing that could spark that further.

Embedding this technology may aid significantly in terms of an EV’s driving range, and Tesla seems to be heading in the right direction.

As recently at the IdeenExpo in Hannover, Germany, the EV giant has unveiled a new solar range extender trailer that comes with an added feature.

Specifically, what Tesla previewed was a system that equips a trailer with deployable solar panels that could extend the driving range of electric vehicles.

Judging from the looks of it, the solar trailer is packaged rather small in size for something that appears to have 300-W of solar panels.

Regardless, this means that the optimum output would be around 2.7-kW, and would generate less than 80 km (50 miles) of range a day, or a third of that.

In terms of the added feature, it is installed with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet receiver, which Starlink recently updated its system to enable using its terminal to get internet in moving vehicles.

Aside from the main product, Tesla also brought a Model Y cutout of its EV, showing off its new structural battery pack with 4,680 battery cells.

It’s not clear why the solar powered range extender trailer was built and unveiled at the expo, due to it coming off more as an attraction than anything else.

That said, this could be another one of Tesla’s recruiting efforts, as the company is not expected to sell it to the public any time soon.

Elsewhere, companies like Aptera, Sono and Lightyear have had some success with projects linking super-efficient vehicles using embedded solar cells.