Tesla Model 3 Owners Won't Get Free Supercharging
In a bid to keep the price of the car down, Tesla won’t offer free Supercharging to owners of its upcoming Model 3.
Speaking at a dealer meeting, Tesla CEO Elon Musk broke the news that Tesla’s “free for life” Supercharger policy is going to change. “The obvious thing to do is decouple [free Supercharging] from cost of Model 3,” said Musk. “It will still be cheap, and far cheaper than gasoline, but it won’t be free unless you buy [an optional charging] package.”
Tesla reiterated that Superchargers are not meant for daily use and have been designed to be used on long roadtrips. Some owners complain of a long wait times at certain Superchargers due to folks using them like gas stations, while Tesla itself sent some scolding letters in 2015 to owners who they believed were Supercharging at the same location too often.
SEE ALSO: Tesla Offering $1,000 Off a Model S or Model X for Referrals
Tesla’s chief technology officer, J.B. Straubel, pitched his idea for “destination chargers,” which will be placed in locations around hotels, restaurants and other attractions and act as places to stop for the night. Unlike a Supercharger which can recharge 80 percent battery life in 30 minutes, these destination chargers will take about four hours to do the same job. Businesses will even be encouraged to buy these destination chargers and run them.
Musk has already hinted that the Tesla Model 3 may end up costing more than originally planned, so it is clear that the company is trying to find ways to keep the overall cost down.
[Source: Consumer Reports]
Discuss this story at our Luxury Lifestyle Forum
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
More by Stephen Elmer
Comments
Join the conversation
Personally I'd rather have a less expensive car than unlimited supercharging. Where I live the only time I'd use a supercharger is when going to visit my aunt and uncle who live 380km away (~235 miles) which might only happen once or twice a year, so if I bought a model 3 I'd rather just pay for the supercharging on a 'per kWh' basis.
There goes ~370,000 Bernie votes.