Tesla Supercharging Free No More

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If there’s a Tesla on your shopping list this year, drop free use of the Tesla supercharging network from your list of perks.

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Starting with Model S and X cars ordered on Jan. 15, Tesla will provide a base annual allotment of 400 kiloWatts of power from its highway-oriented  Supercharger network, but will begin charging a fee after that.

Tesla supercharging

The fees – split into 2 tiers that are priced on the speed which the supercharging is supplying power – will vary from state to state and could be under a dime per kW at the Tier 1 rate in some places, twice that in others, and some states appear to have only one rate tier, not two.

In California, for instance, Tesla’s list of fees shows a flat 20 cents per kW for power from its Superchargers. In Tennessee, however, the fee is 12 cents per kW for charging rates of 60kw or less, and 24 cents per kW for rates above the 60 kW, while Tesla supercharging in Georgia will start at 8 cents per kW and jump to 16 cents at charging rates above above 60 kW.

Superchargers can operate at up to 120 kW, depending on a variety of factors including the number of cars using a station, the ambient temperature and how full a car’s battery is when charging begins.

There’s  a tool on the Tesla Supercharging support page that lists the fees in each tier for each state.

The company also has an interactive Supercharging system map that shows the location of all stations along with locations of nearby restrooms, restaurants and wifi hotspots.

Tesla previously had said that Supercharging for the upcoming Model 3 would not be free, but it has not issued a fee schedule for that model, which won’t be hitting the streets until late this year or even sometime in 2018.

The automaker says the fee schedule has been instituted to help persuade owners to use the Superchargers only when traveling long distances and to move their cars as soon as they are charged, to free up space for others. Overcrowded Supercharger facilities and reports of Tesla owners using Superchargers instead of home charging for most or even all of their charging needs have become common.

Tesla says it will not make a profit from the Supercharger fees and will invest them in expanding the network.