A set of photographs posted to X, and written up by the Polish site elektrowoz.pl on 15 August 2026, shows something that is not supposed to happen at a Tesla Supercharger: a car from another brand drawing more power than a Tesla can.
The car is a European-market Zeekr X with the LFP battery. The screen in the photographs reads 257.2 kW. On non-Tesla chargers able to supply more, the same car is reported to have reached 264 kW and, in one case, 284 kW.
Why 257 kW is the number that raises eyebrows
The Zeekr X is not an exotic machine. It is a C-segment crossover, 4.45 m long on a 2.75 m wheelbase, built on a 400-volt architecture — the older, lower-voltage layout that is usually the reason a car charges slowly, not quickly.
At 400 volts, 257 kW means roughly 640 amps flowing through the cable. That is the part that matters. The CCS2 connector standard is generally taken to cap third-party cars at 500 amps, and elektrowoz's reading is that Superchargers had previously allowed current above 600 amps only for Tesla's own vehicles. On that account, a non-Tesla clearing 600 amps is the story, not the kilowatts.
| Car | Peak DC power seen |
|---|---|
| Zeekr X (European, LFP) — photographed | 257.2 kW |
| Zeekr X — manufacturer's published maximum | 230 kW |
| Tesla Model 3 / Model Y, European Superchargers | 250 kW |
| Non-Tesla 400 V car at a Polish Supercharger | around 200 kW |
That last row comes from TeslAnt's own reporting on what non-Teslas pay and receive at Polish Superchargers, where the Bytom site delivers up to 250 kW to a Tesla and around 200 kW to a 400-volt car from another manufacturer. The photographed session is about 28% above that figure.
What is not confirmed
A good deal, and it should temper the excitement.
Tesla has published nothing about changing current limits for other brands, and no second outlet has reproduced the measurement. The evidence is a dashboard photograph, which is the weakest kind there is — it records what the car displayed, not what the charger delivered.
The most awkward detail is that 257.2 kW exceeds Zeekr's own specification. When the Zeekr X was revised in May 2026 its peak was quoted at up to 230 kW, good for 10–80% in 18 minutes. A car exceeding its maker's published maximum by 12% is possible — published figures are conservative and depend on cell temperature and state of charge — but it is equally consistent with a misread or a transient spike.
What it would mean for European owners
For owners of large 400-volt cars in Europe, quite a lot. A BMW i7 or a Mercedes EQS carries a big pack on a 400-volt system, and the 500-amp ceiling, not the battery, is what has held their Supercharger sessions back. Lifting it would cut real minutes from a stop on a German or Polish motorway.
For European Tesla owners the implication is less comfortable. Superchargers are opening to other brands site by site across the continent, and a network that hands a competitor more power than it gives a Model Y changes the calculation about who is queueing behind whom. Tesla has always kept its own drivers cheapest in Europe; it has also, until now, kept them fastest.
One photograph does not settle that. It is worth watching for a second.