Power

Powering TeslaUSB

There are many options for powering the device running TeslaUSB, each with their own pros and cons.

• directly from USB port. This is the most straightforward, but does mean that the device needs to boot up every time you get in the car, and depending on hardware it can take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute before the car will see the TeslaUSB drive. In addition, the car will turn off the USB ports shortly after getting out of the car, which means TeslaUSB might be shut off while archiving. To prevent archiving from being interrupted, the car needs to be kept awake long enough for archiving to finish, which can either be done manually (e.g. by turning on climate control or Sentry mode, or accessing the car via the Tesla app), or automatically by configuring TeslaUSB to use the Tesla API to keep the car awake.
• from USB with a passthrough charger. Most portable phone chargers turn off their output port while being charged, but some support providing output power while being charged themselves. This is generally referred to as passthrough mode. By putting such a charger between the TeslaUSB device and the car, TeslaUSB will continue to be powered by the charger when the car turns off its USB ports, while the charger itself will be recharged when you're driving. Depending on the capacity of the charger and your driving habits, this may keep TeslaUSB powered permanently. Because such chargers generally don't pass through the USB data lines, you may need multiple connections to the car, or use one or more Y-cables.
• from USB with a "UPS hat". There are accessories for Raspberry Pi and other compatible devices, often referred to as UPS HATs, that provide battery backup power for the device. They function similar to the passthrough chargers mentioned above, but attach directly to the Raspberry Pi or similar device, usually via the 40-pin GPIO connector.
• hardwired in to the car. If you can find a source of permanent 12V power (older model S and X have this easily available in the OBD2 port in the driver footwell), you can tap into that with the appropriate voltage converter (usually 12V-to-5V), and then use that to power TeslaUSB. The advantage of this is that TeslaUSB will be always-on, making the TeslaUSB drive immediately available to the car when you get in, giving you access to the web interface without having to wake up the car first, and removing the need to use the Tesla API to keep the car awake during archiving.