Tesla Wall Connector vs Indra Smart LUX: slim and tough, or cheap and native?

£478 native, or £615 slim and weatherproof

These two chargers answer different questions. The Tesla Wall Connector (Gen 3) is the cheapest way to get the official charger on your wall — £478, a 7.3-metre cable, and an app already installed on your phone. The Indra Smart LUX is £615, British-built, half the depth, and rated to survive weather the Tesla politely asks to be shielded from.

The gap is £137. What it buys you is specific: OZEV grant eligibility, a ruggedised enclosure, solar diversion, and integration with over a thousand UK tariffs. What it doesn't buy you is the Tesla ecosystem — and for Tesla owners, that still matters.

• Tesla Wall Connector — the native choice. Cheapest path to the official charger, longest cable, but no grant and scheduling is manual.
• Indra Smart LUX — the protected choice. Slimmest on the wall, toughest against the elements, OZEV-approved, broader tariff coverage.

Does the Indra's £137 premium earn its keep?

It depends entirely on three things: where the charger is going, whether you qualify for the grant, and what tariff you're on.

If the charger sits on an exposed, weather-facing wall, the Indra Smart LUX wins before the conversation starts. IP67 against water and IK10 against impact are the best protection ratings of any home charger we list. The Tesla is IP44 — the lowest in this round-up, and fine under a porch or in a garage, but exposed to horizontal rain it wants cover. Fitting that cover adds cost the Indra doesn't need.

If you're a renter or flat owner who qualifies for the £500 OZEV grant, the calculation shifts further. The Indra Smart LUX is OZEV-approved; the Tesla Wall Connector is not. The grant wipes out most of the Indra's unit price and chips into the install. The Tesla, cheaper on paper, stays at £478 plus install. For grant-eligible buyers the Indra is the cheaper charger on the wall.

On a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go or E.ON Next Drive, the Tesla's manual scheduling does the job. Set the window once, forget it. On Octopus Agile, with prices moving every half hour, the Indra's tariff integration chases cheap slots the Tesla can't see. On Octopus Intelligent Go, Tesla's own API handles the optimisation, and the Indra's advantage narrows again.

The solar question

The Indra Smart LUX ships with a CT clamp for solar PV diversion — route surplus generation into the car rather than exporting it at a pittance. The Tesla has no solar functionality without bolting on third-party hardware. If you have panels, this is a real and recurring saving, not a feature to tick on a spec sheet.

That said, solar buyers deserve a closer look at the myenergi Zappi GLO, which is built around solar diversion from the ground up. The Zappi GLO comparison page is the better read for that use case.

Cable, app, ecosystem

Tesla's 7.3-metre cable is the longest here; Indra's standard is 6 metres, with a 10-metre option at £670. For most driveways 6 metres is plenty, but if your charger has to reach across a shared driveway or around a corner, Tesla's reach still counts.

The Tesla app is the quiet advantage people underrate. Charging state, scheduling, history, and power sharing across up to six units all live where you already look. The Indra app is capable and the tariff library is broad, but it's another icon on the home screen.

The verdict

Buy the Tesla Wall Connector (Gen 3) if:

• You own a Tesla and charge on a fixed off-peak window
• The charger sits under cover or indoors
• You want the longest cable in the round-up for £478

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You're a renter or flat owner claiming the £500 OZEV grant
• The wall is exposed and needs IP67/IK10 protection
• You have solar panels and want diversion without extra hardware

For a Tesla owner with a sheltered wall and a simple tariff, the Wall Connector is the decision — £137 saved, native app, done. For anyone else in this pairing — grant-eligible, exposed wall, solar, or on Agile — the Indra Smart LUX is the charger we'd put up.