Using a pulsed afterglow technique, the excitation mechanism of the cw positive column He‐Te laser was investigated and a velocity averaged total destruction cross section of He+by tellurium was measured to be 1×10−15cm2. The principle channel for excitation of upper laser levels was seen to be charge transfer collisions between He+and Te atoms. These results are compared to similar measurements of upper laser levels of the positive column He‐Se laser, and the previous hollow cathode discharge measurements of He‐Te collisions as performed by Alienikov and Ushakov.