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New Tesla Buyers Will Have To Pay To Use Superchargers (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the just-pay-shipping-and-handling dept.

Tesla has updated its Supercharging Network of free fast-charging stations. Customers who purchase Teslas after January 1st, 2017, will be required to pay "a small fee to Supercharge." The fee itself "will be charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car." The Verge reports: Current Tesla owners with Supercharger-equipped cars will be able to use the stations for free for the life of those vehicles, and a Tesla spokesperson tells The Verge that the free charging will transfer to successive owners. Customers who buy Teslas after that January 1st cutoff will be afforded 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits each year, good for about 1,000 miles, according to Tesla. The company says it will release more details about the change later this year, but added that "prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity." "Our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center," the company wrote in a blog post about the change. Tesla says that, by losing less money on providing free electricity at these stations, that the fees will subsidize the continued expansion of the Supercharger network. The Superchargers allow for a full charge in about 75 minutes or a half charge in about -- much faster than the standard Level 1 or Level 2 chargers found around the U.S. -- and Tesla has built 734 Supercharger stations (with nearly 5,000 chargers) since the network was started in 2012.

6 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. That's how it always works by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The first one is always free...

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  2. Better cost a LOT less by rfengr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It had better cost a hell of a lot less than filling up a comparable gas car.

  3. Pull the other one. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    "Our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center,"

    WAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

    That's up there with:

    Don't worry, I'll pull out.
    Once this toll road is paid off, it will be free for all to use.
    Your Social Security number will never be used for any other purpose.
    Linux will never have binary logging.

    1. Re:Pull the other one. by BasilBrush · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You don't understand Musk. He's already made the big fortune that gives him everything me might desire for the rest of his life. Many billionaire's can't turn that off though, and keep seeking to make more and more money. Not Musk. Musk is motivated by changing the world. That's why he's doing Tesla and Space X and the rest.

      He's already given away his patent rights on all technology in the superchargers, free for any competitor. That is not the action of a man with a plan to make money from superchargers.

  4. Re:170 miles range from just 30 minutes, you meant by geekmux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    30 minutes to go 170 miles you say? Amazing. It took me about 2 minutes to "recharge" so I can go 220 miles. Of course I only had to partially "recharge" so if I had spent longer, say 5 minutes, I could go >400 miles.

    Spent longer to go over 400 miles you say? Speaking of spending, it's amazing what benefit you get when you pay far more for it.

  5. Re: Primary purpose is limit "local charging" by misnohmer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Your comparison to gas stations is missing the point that only long distance travellers are charging. Everyone else charges at home. Think how many less gas stations you'd need if everyone had an automatic gas fill at home and only went to the gas station if they were driving more than 200miles in a day, or traveling. Even when visiting family far away, usually there is an outlet one can use - once EV's are more common, they will have chargers at family too.