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Tesla Will Have Metal Gear Snake Autocoupler, Musk Confirms
Tesla's Metal Gear Snake Autocoupler, also known as the snake robot recharger, is really going to be instantiated, according to Elon Musk in a recent series of tweets.
In a follow-up tweet, the CEO confirmed that Tesla still has plans for the robot snake charge concept:
Here's what it looks like:
See Tesla Robotaxis Will Automatically Recharge Themselves for yet more confirmation from Musk, this time from the 2019 Autonomy Day presentation.
Science fiction fans will of course check out the self-charging robots from the 1960 short story Callahan and the Wheelies by Stephen Barr, the first reference to this idea that I know about. Oh, and don't forget the steel robot tentacles from HG Wells' 1898 classic War of the Worlds.
Update 09-Mar-2026: It turns out there IS a good reference for this idea in Flying Dutchman (1951) by Ward Moore:
From the fuel storage an apparently endless hose snaked across the field, and reaching the bomber, became even more reptilian as it raised its head in response to electronic impulses, then crawling up the plane's towering side, blindly sought the intake leading to the empty gas tanks.
(Read more about the automatic fuel hose)
Thanks to SFFaudio for the lead on this story! End update.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/9/2020)
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