LONDON, ENGLAND - Saturday, June 7, 2014: CEO & Chief Product Architect Elon Musk plugs in a Supercharger to a right-hand drive Model S at the UK launch of Tesla Motors' Model S electric car at the Crystal.
LONDON, ENGLAND – Saturday, June 7, 2014: CEO & Chief Product Architect Elon Musk plugs in a Supercharger to a right-hand drive Model S at the UK launch of Tesla Motors’ Model S electric car at the Crystal.
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — Soon, free supercharging from Tesla will become a thing of the past. Sooner than you might realize.
The automaker said Monday it will begin phasing in new fees to use its fast-charging network. Cars ordered after Jan. 1 will receive a 400 kilowatt-hour credit — good for roughly 1,000 miles — every year. Additional charging will cost users, although Tesla did not set a price. Existing Tesla owners will not be affected, the company said.
“There will be a small fee to Supercharge, which will be charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car,” the company said.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk first hinted at the idea of charging for the service back in May, saying then the company could not afford to give free electricity to drivers with its $35,000 Model 3 sedan. The vehicle is expected to roll out late next year. Since its inception, the company has installed more than 4,600 fast charging stations, these are capable of providing vehicles with a 30-minute charge to power them for 170 miles. The string of stations stretches across U.S. interstate highways and throughout Europe.
The free stations quickly became popular hangouts for Tesla owners, and a regular stop. Soon, long lines became the norm, car owners can be seen jockeying for position when using the stations. The company sent out letters last year to owners, reminding them the network was designed for long-distance travelers needing a quick fill-up to reach their destinations, not for daily top-offs.
Tesla said the revenue generated from charging for the service will be used to develop and expand its Supercharger Network. The new charges will affect customers receiving their vehicles after March 31. This includes all prospective Model 3 owners.
“I guess we knew it wouldn’t be free forever,” one Tesla fan wrote on the company’s website. “Especially with people abusing it for local charging.”
The announcement comes on the heels of the program the White House announced last week, a series of initiatives to speed up the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure. An initiative joined by automakers such as BMW, General Motors and Nissan, along with PG&E and Southern California Edison, and Bay Area tech firms ChargePoint, PlugShare and Greenlots.
The Department of Transportation is setting up 48 national electric charging stations on highways, covering 25,000 miles in 35 states. The corridors will develop a national program of signs and branding to stir public interest.
