[arijaycomet]

Since the battery is rather small on the BMW i8, you’d be fine to actually just use a 120V standard wall charger. You don’t need but a few hours to fully charge the battery, so overnight you’ll get a full charge with just Level 1 (120V) charging. Level 2 (240V) charging is overkill for the i8.

That said, we’ve been electric since 2012 (currently wife’s daily is a 2018 Tesla model 3 Perf; our 10th Tesla). We’ve had : Audi eTron SUV (2019), Audi A3 eTron, Tesla Roadster, Tesla S/X/3, Chevy Bolt, BMW i8 (3x), and the list goes on and on—-

Any car with a 20+ kW battery is best to have L2 charging, in which case yes, you will want to buy something. I’m a fan of the ChargePoint Home (FLEX is the new name/unit) but admit its pricey, and maybe not with justification. It is worth noting that if you use L2 charging (J1772, non-Tesla) to charge a Tesla down the road, there is a $99 adapter you’ll need (which has been included with the car, and I assume still is but this is Tesla, where things change often).

Any name brand charger is good, Leviton, ChagePoint, ClipperCreek. Just make sure the unit you get is rated for the power you plan to put out. Based on a 50A breaker you’d be at 40A max, which is plenty. Most cars can only handle 30A, 32A, or 40A depending. Newer EVs are up to 40A/240v (9.6 kW) charging rates. But many are still stuck at lower (7.2 kW or even lower). The car determines the max amperage/charge speed, not the wall unit, usually (though like a modem, its the lower common denominator)

IMO, buy a 40A unit to future proof it best you can plus use all of that 50A breaker (you usually need 20% headroom so a 40A draw on a 50A breaker is correct). Let me go check amazon, and I’ll post a few links of some newer 40A units worth considering —-