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How much is free Tesla Supercharging worth?

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The value of supercharging is much more than the cost of electricity. If I cannot supercharge on a road trip, it means the model S stays home. The alternates are to fly and rent a car or to take an ICE car. I know that a round trip between L.A. and San Francisco costs about $180 in gasoline in a low 20s mpg ICE vehicle for me. So when I plan a trip in the model S, I think about the equivalent cost of gasoline not the cost of the electricity.


This.

It's the significant point at the crux of my Supercharger ROI thread: it's an an enabling technology and infrastructure that's value far exceeds the few dollars in electricity I'd otherwise spend to charge the car.


And... because I can't believe nobody has done it yet:

Cost of electricity saved: $6

Equivalent gasoline cost saved: $80

Going on roadtrips with the familiy in my Model S: PRICELESS!
 
They were never told it was extra and not part of the car when they purchased.

Never told? Isn''t the beauty of the model that the consumer configures the car online. When you build the car the Supercharger option is very apparent.

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If they were working in a showroom I find it difficult to believe that a Tesla employee would skip over this option without describing it thoroughly. I applaud Tesla for their goodwill gesture, however, people need to read and take responsibility.

With regards to cost of the superchargers and whether or not they are free or not, I would summarize it that we pay for access to the network. There is no cost to use a supercharger. The access cost is the same if you use it once or everyday. We are paying for a feature of the vehicle. It just so happens that the feature exists outside the vehicle and is shared by other drivers.

With regard to the topic of the thread I would say that the answer is "priceless"!!!
 
This.

It's the significant point at the crux of my Supercharger ROI thread: it's an an enabling technology and infrastructure that's value far exceeds the few dollars in electricity I'd otherwise spend to charge the car.


And... because I can't believe nobody has done it yet:

Cost of electricity saved: $6

Equivalent gasoline cost saved: $80

Going on roadtrips with the familiy in my Model S: PRICELESS!

For me (on some trips) my alternative would be 4 airline tickets. I didn't go on road trips in my ICE car. I didn't find them enjoyable. So I would fly.
 
I actually talked to a couple at a supercharger who had a 60 without supercharging capability. They were never told it was extra and not part of the car when they purchased. They had been counting on it. They called tesla who "turned it on for 24 hours" for them as a gesture of goodwill. Tesla also explained the cost. So it can be turned on and off remotely.

Ummmm... No! It is a line item on their purchase contract. They had to NOT select it when they ordered the car.
 
Some good comments above ... interesting to see "free worth it" from both the company and consumer perspective. Here is another one I mentioned before but it bares repeating on this thread.

>>>Think of the marketing value of a row of shiny new Teslas parked in front of high traffic areas with enthusiastic owner/ambassadors on the ready to educate and propagate the Tesla Mission to curious passerby's.