Does Leaving Tesla Charger Plugged In Use Electricity?

Yes, leaving Tesla charger plugged in will consume electricity. But there are two cases here.

Leaving Tesla Charger Plugged-in When not Charging

If you let Tesla charger plugged into wall outlet but not to the car then it uses very little electricity just to power the LED status light. It comes to well below 0.12 watts per hour at a standard outlet of 110V. If it remains plugged into 240V outlet it comes to around 0.24 watts per hour. 

Leaving Tesla Charger Plugged-in Even After Completed Charging

Now, If you let Tesla charger plugged into car even after it is charged, then it consumes electricity whenever car draws power later on. 

Your EV’s battery drains even if it is not used, by around 1% daily. But if it uses sentry mode and other phone apps which make your EV awake then it will use the more battery power. These are called vampire drains.

Plus, over time if the charger is plugged into car, then car may also draw energy at certain intervals to maintain certain heat in high voltage battery. Which is good for the battery’s health.

In that case, EV’s onboard charger will automatically consume energy from plugged in Tesla charger to maintain certain heat in the high-voltage battery and compensate for certain vampire drains.

So for those reasons, yes leaving Tesla charger plugged in will use electricity.

is it ok to leave Tesla charger plugged in?

Yes, it is completely OK and safe to leave Tesla charger plugged into wall outlet, when it is not charging.

There are no issues leaving it plugged in and no concern for the safety as well for the charger.

In fact, it is recommended to let Tesla charger remain plugged in when you don’t use it. Frequently removing the power plug from wall outlet and replugging gives it more wear and tear over time. And the cable may get damaged.

However that takes time, but there are many people who need to do power cable replacement just because it got damaged with frequent removals and reinserts.

Additionally, if it falls mistakenly then it may again get damaged.

Although, letting it remain plugged in uses electricity, however of a small amount. If you don’t want it so then if you have a dedicated circuit breaker you can switch it off. That’s a workaround you can do.

But it’s not an issue leaving it plugged into wall.