'Tesla' Ends Free Unlimited Supercharging But People Won't Mind; What Makes Buyers Stay?
Tesla revealed some changes to the Superchargers program. The company's offer of free, unlimited use of Superchargers will be discontinued starting next year.
Starting January 1, 2017, people buying Tesla vehicles will receive 400 kWh or approximately 1,000 miles free charging. Then, the drivers of Models S, Model X, and the future Model 3 as well as other models will be charged a fee. Tesla has yet to announce the price per charge, but USA Today reveals that the cost of Supercharging will be far less than the price of filling up a gas vehicle.
The Tesla car models that aren't affected can still enjoy free Supercharging for their vehicle on the condition they take the car before April 1, 2017, Tech Crunch reports. Tesla also announced that is releasing further details on Supercharging pricing later this year, and may vary depending on time, location, price of electricity and other considerations.
On the flip side, Forbes postulate that while taking away the free stuff may leave others displeased, there will be no significant reversal in demand for Tesla vehicles. The first reason being that the Model 3 released just last March, contrary to analysts' predictions, had a surprising number of sales - 160,000 bookings to be exact. Moreover, the reasons why people buy Tesla vehicles is not because of its free supercharging. Rather, Forbes cites its attractive design, innovation, and remarkable quickness. Lastly, Model 3 Tesla is a city car designed for educated professionals in urban areas where people use cars to drive from home to work and back.
There are 734 Tesla Supercharging station with 4,605 separate high-speed chargers worldwide, most of then along major highways in the United States, Europe, and China.
The Superchargers power Tesla car battery fairly quickly, and it's been free up until recently. People knew all too well that Tesla's free Supercharging program is too good to last forever, and it probably won't.
