Free Supercharging : Now you see it...now you don't

[AnxietyRanger]

Nothing wrong with that, that's what every business should do, make good sales and be successful, but this change of mind so many times doesn't build long term trust in the brand.

Actually, there is a lot wrong with that if and when many people made car buying decisions during the past month believing in the free Supercharging story.

See: bait and switch.

 

[AndrewTX]

It is kind of unprofessional how they change their mind so quickly. Clearly driven by them trying to get the S/X sold quickly. Nothing wrong with that, that's what every business should do, make good sales and be successful, but this change of mind so many times doesn't build long term trust in the brand. Same with the complete 180 on the referral program.

Having said that, the cost of Supercharging is really small. It's roughly as much as you would pay at home, so it's not like you are getting ripped off at a Supercharger. Unless you drive a lot of miles on Superchargers, it's a small expense. I would not decide to buy or not buy a certain car or model year based on that. For example, if I had the choice to get an old car with free Supercharging without AP, or a newer one with AP and paying for Supercharging, I would pick the new one. I think the same will be true for the 2018 Model S/X. It will be a new car with lots of fundamental improvements that are worth more than free Supercharging.

I would also like to add that in the beginning, unlimited Supercharging was $2000. That is the equivalent of 40-60k miles.

Tesla's gyrations on whether or not unlimited Supercharger access is included in the cost of a new X/S are signs of amateurish brand management more reminiscent of a three-person software startup than an established multi-billion dollar corporation. Do they actually have one person in charge (beneath Musk, of course) or are there competing power centers fighting for control? Whipsawing back and forth like this shows that there isn't a long-term strategic plan.

 

[randvegeta]

As a person with no access to Supercharging, and at best can only see a difference of $2,000 in value between having and not having it, I find much of this 'debate' to be quite strange.

Most people charge at home anyway right? And the cost of supercharging is about the same price of domestic electricity right? So are we really quibbling over a few pennies here? 100k KM = <2,000 EUR in electricity. Compare that to the price of the car which in the EU basically starts at 60k if you buy the cheapest second hand one available.

Seems insane to be worried about a negligible sum of money when compared to the overall cost.

 

[azred]

As a person with no access to Supercharging, and at best can only see a difference of $2,000 in value between having and not having it, I find much of this 'debate' to be quite strange.

Most people charge at home anyway right? And the cost of supercharging is about the same price of domestic electricity right? So are we really quibbling over a few pennies here? 100k KM = <2,000 EUR in electricity. Compare that to the price of the car which in the EU basically starts at 60k if you buy the cheapest second hand one available.
Seems insane to be worried about a negligible sum of money when compared to the overall cost.

If your analysis was even close to accurate, then Tesla wouldn't make such a big deal out of it every time they dangle free Supercharging in front of prospective buyers. Personally, I don't think they should have ever made it free, mostly to prevent traffic jams at urban Superchargers. While I personally have only Supercharged once in six months -- we travel a lot but can travel for free by air so driving is short distance only -- I also know my transferable free Supercharging will be helpful to my car's resale value. In addition to the cheapskates who will Supercharge to save a few bucks on their electric bills, there are also lots of owners in huge cities like New York and San Francisco who have no ability to charge at home. Don't try to figure out Americans. We have a great country, yet elected a President who convinced us we are a mess!

 

[NoMoGas]

Ah... The joys of communication and Tesla... I often wonder who is making half of the decisions as they seem to be a bit all over the place at times... It's not that this is unheard of with rapidly growing companies but I would have expected Tesla to have a little more consistency by now...

Jeff

Im thinking that Tesla uses the same communications team as the White House.

 

[hitparader]

After taking delivery of my Model S on June 10th; I HIGHLY doubt I'll be in the market to purchase another prior to the close of the year, as I am now buried in my new purchase for a couple of years. While I am thankful my new model S has the FUSC, limiting the offer for future purchases until December makes me feel they rolled out this promotion without much thought. I don't mind paying for future charging to be honest, the infrastructure has to be maintained somehow; but the give/take away has left me feeling somewhat betrayed. Thankfully, they didn't take away the FUSC on my new car and limit it to 400. In the end, I'm happy. They have built a car I really love to drive a lot, and have yet to even visit a SC station. I hope in the future they spend a couple weeks hammering out the specific terms and conditions before publishing and running with something completely different.

 

[doctorwho]

I wouldn't get too fussed, the policy will probably flip-flop a few more times between now and the end of the year

 

[cruiserlarry]

This flip-flop is not new. Telsa convinced me to order mine before 12/31/2016 as they were terminating free supercharging for life, only to extend it through Feb 2017, and then reinstate it again recently. They let you give it to referral customers, then add it to any S or X you buy, and now turn around and limit both of those features to 12/31/2017.

We all know by now that Tesla has a credibility problem with timelines and features, and that Tesla will giveth, and Tesla will taketh away anytime they feel it will stimulate additional sales - so I prefer to spend my time driving my Tesla, enjoying the the full range of high tech features you'd expect in this price range - experiencing the amazingly flawless AP2 and it's navigation interface, the unbelievably simple and accurate text message / phone / audio control interface, the fabulous rain-sensing wipers, the performance-inspired self-steering headlights, along with all the standard luxury car features including vanity mirror lights, blind spot warning system, 360 degree camera views, and the...uh, oops, sorry - I must have been daydreaming....

 

[ucmndd]

The only thing better than a demand lever is a demand lever you can pull multiple times. Live and learn.

Sincerely,

Late 2016 MS owner and day 1 Model 3 reservation holder that bought in to the "MS 60 price increase" and "no more free supercharging" panic and couldn't be happier.

 

[OnTheRun]

Disappointing...

 

[182RG]

Elon having every worker injury incident being sent to him and doing the task they do on the production line is most certainly not taking ownership of anything.

You realize having a copy of recordable incidents sent to him, and camping out on the production line is essentially doing nothing, right. It's an empty move, with no tangible action. It's pure PR, not a fix.

 

[xyeahtony]

As a person with no access to Supercharging, and at best can only see a difference of $2,000 in value between having and not having it, I find much of this 'debate' to be quite strange.

Most people charge at home anyway right? And the cost of supercharging is about the same price of domestic electricity right? So are we really quibbling over a few pennies here? 100k KM = <2,000 EUR in electricity. Compare that to the price of the car which in the EU basically starts at 60k if you buy the cheapest second hand one available.

Seems insane to be worried about a negligible sum of money when compared to the overall cost.

Supercharging is for long-distance travel. Do you ever see yourself driving to Spain one day? Then it'd be useful then.

 

[ecarfan]

So only a few weeks after telling current owners they would receive free Supercharging on future X or S purchases, they have now said the offer expires December 31.

When Tesla recently announced the latest owner referral program, whereby using a referral code when purchasing a new Tesla meant that the buyer would have free unlimited Supercharging for as long as they owned that car, it was also announced that the program would end on 12/31/2017.

What program are you referring to?

 

[redan]

What program are you referring to?

This one (from myTelsa):

You have free, unlimited Supercharging, including your current Tesla and any new Model S or Model X you purchase.

Now it says:

You have free, unlimited Supercharging for your current Tesla vehicle as well as any new Model S or Model X purchased before December 31, 2017.

So for about one month, we had free Supercharging on lifetime purchases. Not anymore.

Until Tesla changes the rules yet again (and again, and again, ...).

 

[azred]

Supercharging is for long-distance travel. Do you ever see yourself driving to Spain one day? Then it'd be useful then.

That used to be true, but Tesla's latest Supercharging plan makes it clear they are now planning for urban users who have no at home charging availability.

 

[ecarfan]

Okay, thanks. So the latest referral program promotion from the start stated that it would end on 12/31/2017. I never believed that under that program, current owners would receive free unlimited Supercharging on any Tesla they purchased at any time in the future.I think Tesla is simply clarifying their program. They should have always specified an end date. They did not. I do not believe Tesla was trying to mislead or trick anyone. But if you choose to believe that, go ahead.

This one (from myTelsa):

You have free, unlimited Supercharging, including your current Tesla and any new Model S or Model X you purchase.

Now it says:

You have free, unlimited Supercharging for your current Tesla vehicle as well as any new Model S or Model X purchased before December 31, 2017.

So for about one month, we had free Supercharging on lifetime purchases. Not anymore.

Until Tesla changes the rules yet again (and again, and again, ...).

 

[MikeBur]

Although the revisiting of decisions, implicitly and without notification, is a Tesla hallmark and it is feasible this is just because they try various models to incentivize as part of their continuous innovation approach.

In this case though, I wonder if this is all tied to a software issue. Originally, the car decided whether it was capable of supercharging with no concept of quantity of energy delivered, etc. Tying this to billing requires some additional software complexity in the car, and I'm wondering if this is actually working. They have been concentrating massively on AP2.0 and Model 3, and SpC billing software is likely far far down the priority list as the ROI isn't there.

Idle time is the simplest. Has anyone been charged for idle time?
Charging rates are next. Has anyone been charged per use for SpC when it was effectively chargeable to some?

If not working, then I believe this flip-flop is more based on ability to deliver the software at discipline required rather than a marketing demand lever...

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Elon having every worker injury incident being sent to him and doing the task they do on the production line is most certainly not taking ownership of anything.

It's certainly indicative of piss poor management. The continued delivery of vehicles to owners with questionable initial quality is indicative of Tesla pushing problems downstream to make issues someone else's problem, but some here (i.e., TSLA stockholders) think that's okay because it helps Tesla meet its quarterly goals. The lack of followup and follow-through by Tesla employees as reported in these forums is indicative of employees who don't take ownership of anything. It seems that if I want a job with zero accountability I should probably work at Tesla.

 

[xyeahtony]

It's certainly indicative of piss poor management. The continued delivery of vehicles to owners with questionable initial quality is indicative of Tesla pushing problems downstream to make issues someone else's problem, but that's okay because it helps Tesla meet its quarterly goals. The lack of followup and follow-through by Tesla employees as reported in these forums is indicative of employees who don't take ownership of anything. It seems that if I want a job with zero accountability I should probably work at Tesla.

The fact that there were injuries in the first place does indicate poor management which Elon does seem to be trying to address. There is no doubt he's an exceptional leader/manager but his minions may not be. Hopefully he makes some needed changes if Tesla wants to compete on the big scale. But i don't think theres an overall corporate culture of not caring, just a few people in key positions doing things wrong.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I never believed that under that program, current owners would receive free unlimited Supercharging on any Tesla they purchased at any time in the future.I think Tesla is simply clarifying their program. They should have always specified an end date. They did not. I do not believe Tesla was trying to mislead or trick anyone. But if you choose to believe that, go ahead.

Yes... so it took Tesla almost a full month to clarify big news that was all over the Teslasphere a month ago...

When one tweet from Elon would have solved all that a month ago.

A month at the end of a quarter where sales were apparently lagging, desperately needing a demand lever.

Come on.