You see the higher price if you try and charge a non-Tesla EV in the app.
It'd be a nice perk of ownership to get a discount on a second car but we can all see why they don't do that.
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Changes to Supercharging?
- Thread starter drrock
- Start date
It'd be a nice perk of ownership to get a discount on a second car but we can all see why they don't do that.
Yes and no if you really want to be 100% accurate.
For a Tesla it's the car, for a £10.99 a month member it's the account that starts the charge, there is no mechanism of detecting the car. They do limit these members to 5 charges per day.
They are way too cheap compared to all the other charging networks. I know most of us would say the other networks are too expensive but they maybe are using that extra revenue to invest back into their networks where Tesla has car sales where they make the real money with the charging network being more of a side business.
They had to open up the network to get government funding but by cheaper than other chargers which can be in the same locations in services, they are more likely to fill up first with all brands which will annoy Tesla owners. I suspect they'd still like to keep the Supercharger network as a selling point for buying a Tesla as it's the one thing no other brand has.
Here's what I think they should do personally:
1. They need to stay open to other EV's to get the subsidies as that helps expand the network quicker.
2. When there's lower demand on the superchargers, fine to be cheaper than the other networks so they can maximise the usage of their superchargers and revenue.
3. When chargers are busy and especially when there's other chargers at that site, ramp the prices up so they are more expensive for non-members than other chargers at those sites. e.g. Ionity is 89p a kWh then Tesla goes to 99p for instance. As long as people are aware they'll then hopefully go to the other chargers, lowering demand so Tesla drivers and members can get on easier.
If they did 3, that'll help drive more memberships. I suspect they might not be quite going to those lengths but it is maybe part to drive more memberships and part to cut down others using them when busy. They have to make them open to get the subsidies but they don't have to make them cost effective I imagine for others to actually want to use them.
They had to open up the network to get government funding but by cheaper than other chargers which can be in the same locations in services, they are more likely to fill up first with all brands which will annoy Tesla owners. I suspect they'd still like to keep the Supercharger network as a selling point for buying a Tesla as it's the one thing no other brand has.
Here's what I think they should do personally:
1. They need to stay open to other EV's to get the subsidies as that helps expand the network quicker.
2. When there's lower demand on the superchargers, fine to be cheaper than the other networks so they can maximise the usage of their superchargers and revenue.
3. When chargers are busy and especially when there's other chargers at that site, ramp the prices up so they are more expensive for non-members than other chargers at those sites. e.g. Ionity is 89p a kWh then Tesla goes to 99p for instance. As long as people are aware they'll then hopefully go to the other chargers, lowering demand so Tesla drivers and members can get on easier.
If they did 3, that'll help drive more memberships. I suspect they might not be quite going to those lengths but it is maybe part to drive more memberships and part to cut down others using them when busy. They have to make them open to get the subsidies but they don't have to make them cost effective I imagine for others to actually want to use them.
Tesla owners have always paid a lower price ever since non Tesla drivers were allowed access.
I could be wrong, but having received the same blanket email, I interpreted it as:
"as a Tesla owner, you're automatically a member of the scheme, but henceforth you'll have to pay £10.99 per month to remain so". [whereas previously this fee only applied to non-Tesla owners].
I suppose time will tell, insofar as, will my account get debited with £10.99 even if I don't use a Supercharger in that time?
"as a Tesla owner, you're automatically a member of the scheme, but henceforth you'll have to pay £10.99 per month to remain so". [whereas previously this fee only applied to non-Tesla owners].
I suppose time will tell, insofar as, will my account get debited with £10.99 even if I don't use a Supercharger in that time?
No, I think Tesla cars will stay members and get the discounted rates.
The mistake I made, after reading the email, clicking 'Learn More' and eventually seeing the table explaining the charges....was that I didn't pay enough attention to the phraselogy "...for your OTHER ev..."
As I don't have another EV...it's now clear that the £10.99 won't apply.
Have to say i'm all in favour of this, in fact I think they should charge non-Teslas double!!
I've noticed on my regular drives down to the alps that the number of non-Teslas using the Tesla superchargers has increased massively. I got quite pi$$ed off at easter when I arrived at an aire in France and joined a queue of five other Teslas waiting for a supercharger to come free.... with over half of the vehicles using them being Hyundais, Mercs etc. What was worse was that the long bank of Engie chargers (12 I think) were all sat empty. I spoke to a couple of the other waiting drivers and they were of the same opinion - the USP for buying a Tesla over other EVs for me was the charging network, and it's slowly getting diluted as it's been opened up to non Teslas.
I've noticed on my regular drives down to the alps that the number of non-Teslas using the Tesla superchargers has increased massively. I got quite pi$$ed off at easter when I arrived at an aire in France and joined a queue of five other Teslas waiting for a supercharger to come free.... with over half of the vehicles using them being Hyundais, Mercs etc. What was worse was that the long bank of Engie chargers (12 I think) were all sat empty. I spoke to a couple of the other waiting drivers and they were of the same opinion - the USP for buying a Tesla over other EVs for me was the charging network, and it's slowly getting diluted as it's been opened up to non Teslas.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
With Tesla opening up many superchargers in the US I am thinking we are probably only months away from the first Supercharger shooting if there have not been any already. Someone already called the police on a Rivian owner trying to use a supercharger
Tesla Owner Calls Police on Rivian Driver Using Supercharger
The encounter between a Rivian driver and uninformed Tesla owner highlights 'a need for better education and communication within the EV community,' the Rivian driver says.
The charging networks are doing their part to destroy new EV sales and in turn their own business model that requires more EV's on the road...
Feels like the EV industry is going to need more government support if the car industry is going to hit government goals.
I tried to look into the finances of charging networks to see where the money goes, but it's pretty hard to follow, See Instavolts 2023 annual report here Financial Reports - InstaVolt
So 19M of revenue against 17M of cost, 10% profit. Doesn't seem like much.
Quite what non physical asset they are amortising at £45M a year isn't easy to imagine. Lots and lots of debt in the company though, overall a 95M loss on the year.
I also love in their October report that states :-
"During the April-September period, we have maintained our selling price at 75p/kWh and we are satisfied that this offers consumer excellent value-for-money for their premium charging experience at our sites."
A McDonalds car park is defined as a 'premium' experience lol
It'll be interested to see their results for the last year when they are published.
AndyWarrington
Member
Are the 'Non-Tesla vehicles with Tesla SuC membership' prices the same as Tesla owners? I understand the prices are discounted, was just wondering if the level of discount it to the same price as Tesla owners?
The same. You can see all these prices in your Tesla app, go to the top left menu and from there to Charge my non Tesla.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
These kind of figures show just how fragile EV adoption/wider engagement is. If charging companies cannot make money, who is going to invest in charging infrastructure.
I'm pretty uncertain if our next car purchase will be another EV. If our X didn't have free for life surcharging I really wouldn't be that bothered by replacing it with something like the a RX.
EV adventure has been a fun one for me, but all good things end at some point.
This is a huge transition. In fact that's an understatement. The changes are not necessarily going to flow from the short-term profit making enterprises of every day commerce. If we leave it to "the market" many of the changes won't come until much later in the game ... oh, they'll come alright, but it will need pandemic levels of deaths through climate chaos and wars for the penny to drop! Meantime if the familiar status quo is cheaper and more convenient then who gives a damn? Some confident government leadership pointing the ship in the right direction would have been nice ...
