Why do you tap a tesla charger

This is either one of those urban myths or a misunderstood question. So, in this post I will answer both.

The Urban Myth

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Many people incorrectly believe that tapping the charger on the rear tail light will help with charging speed or connectivity. There seems to be a myth that this will help with “aligning electrons” or removing static electricity. Or, perhaps more simply, to remove anything blocking the charging pins from connecting.

Obviously, except for in the most unusual circumstances where something is interfering with the charging connection (ice, dirt, random object), there is no reason to tap the charging cable against the car.

Why do you tap a tesla charger
Charging Your Tesla

Opening The Tesla Charge Port

There are a number of ways to open the Tesla charging port and tapping or pushing on the cover is one of these ways. Because there is a spring-loaded flap over the charging port, you simply push it down to open it.

Perhaps some people have been seen tapping on the tail light, or near the tail light when they are about to charge. After all, the supercharger charge cable can open the charge port automatically or the cable has a button to help with opening too.

Either way, there might also be unusual uses of the cable that confuse people into thinking that this tapping is doing something useful.

My advice. Don’t bother tapping the charging cable against the car. It won’t speed up your charging!

You may have seen it in person or on the internet but there is a strange thing that Tesla drivers do before charging their cars.

They tap their car at least once but usually several times before proceeding to charge. Why exactly do they do that though? Is this a cult thing like the Jeep wave or is there something deeper to it?

Well, in this post we are going to be revealing the reasons why just about every Tesla driver taps their car before charging.

In short, People Tap the Tesla Charger in order to To activate the charger, open the charger port door, Remove debris from the charger hole, Force of habit, or for Social Media.

Let’s look a little deeper into these points one by one.

Tapping the Tesla Charger to Activate the Charger

This will not happen with all chargers but there are several scenarios where the charger will not activate after inserting it. To fix this problem, you tap your charger nozzle several times on the back of your car.

When you re-insert it, it should then begin charging. It’s not clear whether this is by design on Tesla’s part or it’s a design flaw that if fixed by tapping the charger several times. Some Tesla drivers have never had to do this.

Tapping the Tesla Charger to Open Charger Port at Non Tesla Charging Points

The second reason that Tesla drivers tap their cars before charging is that this is one of several ways of opening the charging port especially if you are at a non-Tesla charging port.

When you use a Tesla charger, you have the option of pressing a button on the charging nozzle that opens your charger port door. However, non-Tesla charging stations will not have this capability.

In such instances, you will need to tap your car several times around the tail light area in order to open up the charging door.

To Remove Debris from Charger Hole

Another common reason is that debris may have collected in the charging hole and tapping the charger is a simple way of removing the debris that would have collected in the charger hole.

This is quite common in outdoor charging terminals where they are exposed to the elements and many users. Ultimately, you are bound to have this kind of situation where debris collects in the charger.

The last place you want it collecting is in your charging port.

Tapping With Key FOB or Phone

You can open the port from the dash, through the mobile app as well as your Key FOB. If you forget to open the door from the dash, you can either use a key FOB or phone. You can tap either of them on the charger pot door and it will open up.

Tapping Your Tesla Just as a Habit

We’ve looked at the various practical reasons why Tesla owners tap their cars. While all of them have actual reasons why they are done, sometimes it just becomes a force of habit or a tradition that eventually becomes a thing among Tesla drivers.

Tapping Tesla as Social Media Custom/Challenge

As we have already seen from this article, there are several reasons (some valid and some not so valid) why people tap their Teslas. We’ve put this one last because it falls under the not valid category.

Tapping your Tesla before charging it actually became a viral TikTok sensation at some point. When this happened, other Tesla drivers just got in on the action all due to a social media challenge.

It’s crazy what goes vial online these days and is probably a show of just how people can jump onto a bandwagon without really seeking to understand the reason behind it.

Maybe it was time for Tesla owners to have their own “thing” like what you have with the Jeep Wave. If you don’t know what that is, Jeep drivers have a long-standing tradition of waving to each other whenever they happen to cross paths on the road.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. If you didn’t know the reasons why Tesla drivers tap their cars several times before charging, we are sure that you are now fully aware. We hope this article has been helpful to you.

Why do you tap the back of a Tesla before charging?

Answer provided by But the most likely answer to this question is that it's simply a way to open the car's charging port. Teslas, like other electric vehicles, need to be charged, and the port to plug into the charging station is located behind the tail light.

Why do you have to tap the light to charge a Tesla?

Recently, I've watched some videos in Tiktok about Tesla and I found that many Tesla owners tap the back light of their Tesla 4 to 5 times before charging. Why do they do that? It helps line up the electrons so that they can feed into the car in the most efficient manner possible.