Overview
- Tesla won an FCC waiver on February 18 that lifts rules limiting UWB to handheld devices and barring antennas on fixed outdoor infrastructure.
- The approved design uses Bluetooth Low Energy to discover the pad, then briefly activates impulse UWB solely for alignment before power transfer begins.
- Signals operate at very low power in the 7.7–8.3 GHz band and typically transmit for under about 150 milliseconds per localization sequence.
- Communications are restricted to a single vehicle and pad at a time, with transmissions confined to the approach period and largely shielded by the vehicle body.
- The order imposes operational limits and coordination near sensitive federal and radio astronomy sites, as Tesla advances Cybercab production with prototypes still using Superchargers.