Enlarge (credit: Tesla) On Monday morning, Tesla announced that new electric vehicles ordered after January 1, 2017 will not have unlimited free access to its network of Supercharger stations. The company began rolling out its network of fast-charging stations four years ago, with free unlimited access for Model S and Model X owners (although at one point it was a $2,500 option for the base Model S EV). Earlier this year we learned that those 400,000+ buyers of the new Model 3 EV would not have unfettered access to the Supercharger network. Now it appears that limit will apply to the more expensive vehicles in its range as well. While the details have not been fully revealed yet, Tesla says that from next year, new vehicles will only get the first 400kWh each year for free—after that point the cost of electricity will be passed on to the owner. Prices per kWh will vary regionally, but Tesla says it does not intend the Supercharger network to ever become a profit center. At the same time, this move isn’t suddenly going to cause owning a Tesla to become as expensive as owning other $100,000 vehicles. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics ‘ energy prices, at a national average of 14¢ per kWh, we think it unlikely that, even with overheads, a full Supercharge would cost more than $20. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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No unlimited free Supercharging for Teslas ordered after January 1, 2017
