Updated for Town Hall 18 (October 2026).
The Hidden Tesla is a small, single-target defense that stays buried until a troop comes within 6 tiles, then pops up and zaps ground and air units up to 7 tiles away. It unlocks at Town Hall 7, you can have five by Town Hall 12, and it now goes up to level 17 at Town Hall 18. It is the defense people mean when they search for the Clash of Clans “Tesla tower.”
How the Hidden Tesla works
At the start of a battle the Tesla is invisible to the attacker. It rises when a ground or air troop enters its 6-tile trigger radius, or when the attack reaches 51% destruction, whichever happens first. Once up, it fires every 0.6 seconds at one target within 7 tiles. You and your clanmates can see your Teslas; attackers can’t.
Two details make it different from other defenses:
- It is a defense, not a trap. It counts toward destruction, it never needs rearming, and defense-targeting troops like Hog Riders and Balloons will go after it once it’s revealed.
- It does not create a no-deploy zone around itself. If it sits in an open area of 3×3 tiles or more, attackers can drop troops right on top of it, which pops it up instantly.
The Giga Tesla inside a TH12 Town Hall looks like an oversized Hidden Tesla. Builder Base has its own version too: see the Builder Base Hidden Tesla.
| Range | Trigger Range | Attack Speed | Damage Type | Unit Type Targeted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 0.6s | Single Target | Ground & Air |
Hidden Teslas per Town Hall
Two at TH7, three at TH8, four from TH9, and five from TH12. The count stays at five through TH18. Each Tesla takes up 2×2 tiles.
| Town Hall Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number Available | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Hidden Tesla levels
| Level | TH | DPS | Damage per shot | Hitpoints | Gold cost | Build time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 34 | 20.4 | 600 | 250,000 | 2h |
| 2 | 7 | 40 | 24 | 630 | 350,000 | 3h |
| 3 | 7 | 48 | 28.8 | 660 | 500,000 | 4h |
| 4 | 8 | 55 | 33 | 690 | 600,000 | 6h |
| 5 | 8 | 64 | 38.4 | 730 | 800,000 | 12h |
| 6 | 8 | 75 | 45 | 770 | 1,200,000 | 1d |
| 7 | 9 | 87 | 52.2 | 810 | 1,400,000 | 1d 6h |
| 8 | 10 | 99 | 59.4 | 850 | 1,600,000 | 1d 12h |
| 9 | 11 | 110 | 66 | 900 | 2,100,000 | 1d 18h |
| 10 | 12 | 120 | 72 | 980 | 3,000,000 | 2d |
| 11 | 13 | 130 | 78 | 1,100 | 3,100,000 | 2d 12h |
| 12 | 13 | 140 | 84 | 1,200 | 3,700,000 | 3d |
| 13 | 14 | 150 | 90 | 1,350 | 5,100,000 | 3d 12h |
| 14 | 15 | 160 | 96 | 1,450 | 6,500,000 | 4d |
| 15 | 16 | 170 | 102 | 1,550 | 8,200,000 | 5d |
| 16 | 17 | 180 | 108 | 1,650 | 15,000,000 | 7d |
| 17 | 18 | 190 | 114 | 1,750 | 25,000,000 | 13d |
At TH18, a level 17 Tesla can take two Supercharges: the first raises damage to 195 per second (117 per shot), the second raises hitpoints to 1,800.
Hiding your Teslas well
A Tesla is only as good as its surprise, and the easiest way to give it away is a base with exactly as many empty 2×2 holes as you have Teslas. A few ways to keep attackers guessing:
- Leave a couple of decoy 2×2 gaps that really are empty, and put the Teslas somewhere else.
- Keep every Tesla in a gap no bigger than 2×2 so nobody can drop troops on it.
- When you upgrade a Tesla, it shows up for attackers. Move it to a new spot during the upgrade if you care about the next few defenses.
- Group three or four Teslas together with a Spring Trap or two between them. This “Tesla farm” hits very hard in a small area and often baits out spells the attacker needed elsewhere.
- Use Teslas where attackers like to drop an expensive unit. A Tesla right where a Flame Flinger usually deploys can delete it before it does much.
Corner Teslas (sometimes called troll Teslas) work at lower Town Halls: once the main base is down, defense-targeting troops fly or run to the far corner to hit them and the timer runs out. At TH10 and above, bigger bases fill the corners and the trick stops paying off.
Finding and beating Hidden Teslas
- Scout for empty 2×2 squares inside walls. On a TH7 or higher base that is usually a Tesla; at TH6 it’s more likely a Giant Bomb, which needs the same space.
- A cluster of 2×2, 2×3 or 2×4 gaps on one side of the base often means a Tesla farm. Trigger it with one cheap troop, or go over it with air troops.
- If you can watch the base before attacking (revenge scouting, for example), Villagers sometimes walk up to a hidden Tesla’s spot and clap.
- Once a Tesla pops, don’t feed more troops into its range than you need. Its range is short, so a Grand Warden can outrange it, and a Giant with a few Archers can bring one down because the hitpoints are low.
Recent changes
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| June 12, 2023 | Level 14 added; levels 10 to 12 made cheaper and faster. |
| February 27, 2024 | Level 15 added. |
| September 9, 2024 | Two Supercharge tiers added. |
| February 10, 2025 | Level 16 added; some upgrade times and costs cut; Supercharges moved to level 16. |
| November 17, 2025 | Level 16 and its Supercharges made cheaper and faster. |
| February 23, 2026 | Level 17 added for TH18; level 16 Supercharges removed. |
The Hidden Tesla has been in the game since launch in August 2012. It once did double damage to P.E.K.K.As and targeted them first, but that was removed in October 2016.
FAQ
Is the Hidden Tesla a trap?
No. It hides like a trap, but it is a defensive building, so it never needs rearming and counts toward the attacker’s destruction percentage. The real traps are listed on the Traps page.
What are the Hidden Tesla levels?
17 levels, from TH7 to TH18, plus two Supercharges at TH18. See the table above.
How many Hidden Teslas can you have?
Up to five, from TH12 onward.
Home Village Buildings
Sources: Supercell release notes (February 2026 update notes) and in-game data.
