Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

How much would you pay for Supercharging on Model 3?

How much would you pay for long-distance supercharging?


  • Total voters
    315
This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Yeah, if they charge for SC I will end up taking the ICE on anything outside of my commute
This boggles my mind. Would you expect any other car company to pay for your fuel? The Model S and X are a significantly higher price point and had the price baked into the car. Why would anyone expect the same for a car half the price?

You think the gas you put into your ICE will be a better deal than if you had to pay to supercharge?
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: ElectricIAC
€0.25 per kwh (which is what I pay at home per kwh).

So a single 50 kwh charge would cost €12.50.

Or something like €0.10 per kwh plus €2.50 for each 15min of charging.

Flatrates are bad because
1) they result in wasted energy and as long as part of this energy is coming from filthy nuclear or coal power plants this is bad for the planet.
2) they are super unfair because why should people who charge nearly 100% at home pay for some uber driver's costs.
 
  • Funny
Reactions: ElectricIAC
Pricing
I'm not sure why. Obviously there will be users that travel more than others, and obviously there will be those who can't charge at home. However, this doesn't change the average mileage of the entire fleet. After buying your EV, you won't suddenly see a massive increase in the average mileage.

Therefore, I would think that providing unlimited* charging isn't that impossible nor expensive to offer.

* fair use policy / within reason


# charging points:
I'm also a firm believer that general demand will create an oppurtunity for companies/(and government) to fill in the gaps.

Some growth numbers for The Netherlands (you may need to Google Translate it - it's in Dutch):
Cijfers elektrisch vervoer | RVO.nl
Again, because anything that is considered "free" or "one flat rate, all-you-can-eat" is going to promote camping out at SC stations. It will be all about the traffic flow-through rate. For instance, I have a supercharger 17 miles from my house at the end of a 250 mile round-trip commute (for real) and it looks like I'm going to be 10 miles short of making it home. If I'm already "pre-paid" what am I going to do? Yep, I'm going to stop and drink up as many free electrons as possible, while I go in and read the paper at Starbucks. Now, if the rate were only slightly more expensive at the Supercharger than at home what would I do? I would stop for 5 minutes and get only what I need, get the rest at home. I've just reduced SuperCharger usage by 90% for the same miles driven, which means potentially nine other cars could have gotten in to the same stall during that time I didn't occupy it. Yes, this is just one type of example, but this is what I mean by personal incentives playing a key role in how the SC network can feed the masses. Also, I'm all up in EV etiquette, so I know how to get out of the way when someone else needs the plug. As this goes more mainstream, don't expect to see that kind of consideration as frequently. Oh, and for my example above, what if I was passing the SC station with 10 miles to spare in getting home, well if it's free I'm going to swing in and grab some free "gas", my personal use rate just went up infinity percent for that trip!
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: ElectricIAC
I just voted and realized that I did so incorrectly. I voted as an MS owner and stated what I think Modelowners SHOULD pay, not what I would want if I was actually a owner. Therefore, my contribution to the poll may have been a little flawed. First, TM confirmed to me in an email I received this morning that the will be "supercharger capable", therefore, it will not be free. I see no other way of interpreting that.
I would like to see owners:
- either pay per use, and make the cost affordable, but not ridiculously so that they avoid installing home charging.
- have a choice of either an annual fee or lifetime fee

PS: how does one write the "" character without copying and pasting from another source?
 
Having a supercharging network scattered across the country is vital to my being ale to make the Tesla a full usable car instead of a local hobby. I may not use the SC network often, and probably would not ever touch 90% of the installed units, but that I can fill up wherever is vital.

Now- as to what this vital link should cost...no free lunch.
Base in the car price, pay rent at the gas station, pay a bit for the kw, All seem reasonable, but there HAS to be a model where the SC network survives.
 
Whats wrong with $ per kWh? Blink switched to that model and it makes total sense:

1. You pay for what you actually get.
2. No incentive to camp on chargers.
3. No incentive to charge away from home.

Since Blink switched to that model, their SC station got a lot more useful to me. Now I use it for 10 minute booster charges if I know I can't get home. Since it costs more than my home $/kWh, I don't take more than I need.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dogwhistle
I just voted and realized that I did so incorrectly. I voted as an MS owner and stated what I think Modelowners SHOULD pay, not what I would want if I was actually a owner. Therefore, my contribution to the poll may have been a little flawed. First, TM confirmed to me in an email I received this morning that the will be "supercharger capable", therefore, it will not be free. I see no other way of interpreting that.
I would like to see owners:
- either pay per use, and make the cost affordable, but not ridiculously so that they avoid installing home charging.
- have a choice of either an annual fee or lifetime fee

PS: how does one write the "" character without copying and pasting from another source?

Write it in with a pen...
 
Whats wrong with $ per kWh? Blink switched to that model and it makes total sense:

1. You pay for what you actually get.
2. No incentive to camp on chargers.
3. No incentive to charge away from home.

Since Blink switched to that model, their SC station got a lot more useful to me. Now I use it for 10 minute booster charges if I know I can't get home. Since it costs more than my home $/kWh, I don't take more than I need.
Exactly. I think Tesla will announce something similar at pt 2 of the unveil
 
Yeah, if they charge for SC I will end up taking the ICE on anything outside of my commute

This boggles my mind. Would you expect any other car company to pay for your fuel? The Model S and X are a significantly higher price point and had the price baked into the car. Why would anyone expect the same for a car half the price?

You think the gas you put into your ICE will be a better deal than if you had to pay to supercharge?
I don't think paying for fuel has anything to do with it. I'll likely use my ICE car to avoid charging away from home, too.

It's about the availability of refueling and time. When driving my ICE car, if I close my eyes and coast to a stop, there's a good chance that I'm parked in front of a gas pump! In less than 10 minutes I'll be back on the road. Planning for and driving out of my way to locate a charging station and then spending a lot more time refueling just doesn't interest me.

The main buyers of 200+ mile range BEVs will be people who plan to almost always fill up at home.
 
I don't think paying for fuel has anything to do with it. I'll likely use my ICE car to avoid charging away from home, too.

It's about the availability of refueling and time. When driving my ICE car, if I close my eyes and coast to a stop, there's a good chance that I'm parked in front of a gas pump! In less than 10 minutes I'll be back on the road. Planning for and driving out of my way to locate a charging station and then spending a lot more time refueling just doesn't interest me.

The main buyers of 200+ mile range BEVs will be people who plan to almost always fill up at home.

It is likely true that the main buyers will charge at home, as that is the current demographic for buyers of the S/X. And because of that, in most places (except for a few in CA, during certain times, in the US anyway) there IS no crowding of SCs.

I take it you are not a current Tesla owner? I say that because, planning trips is definitely a different mindset than it is with ICE cars. And if you had done it, you'd know that except for a few areas in the US, the supercharger network is already very good - and I believe will be even better by the Model 3 launch. I have used about a dozen SC locations in the NE/mid-atlantic region and only once, on a holiday weekend at a site with only 2 bays, have I had to wait. 15 minutes. People simply do not camp out as much as non-tesla owners assume. 99% of the time I am the only car charging. And I guess I have faith in my fellow man that Model 3 owners aren't going to be DBs - because they will soon realize the importance of not hogging chargers when THEY want to charge.

There has been much discussion about assumed supercharger problems, wait times, crowding, etc etc. It is true it's an issue in some places currently - but it is being addressed and I am confident it will be solved by the time the Model 3 is on the road. But the reality is, for the vast majority of owners, wait times are NOT an issue - and with the planned expansion of the SC network in anticipation of the Model 3, I am confident it will continue to NOT be an issue. But I guess there will still be hand-wringing until it is proven to be untrue.

I also say that (you might not be an owner) because once you drive your Tesla, you will WANT to drive it on road trips - because the driving experience is far and away better than that of an ICE car - especially if you choose to use autopilot. Our 9 month old Model S already has 50K miles on it. Our ICE car sits unless one of us is forced to drive it. Supercharging becomes part of your routine just as filling up for gas is for your ICE car.

I would not be at all surprised if part of the "part 2" is the revelation that the Model 3 will charge much faster than the Model S/X. That would take care of a LOT of the anxiety about future wait times will be.
 
With many of the costs/solutions many people are proposing, you could rent a gas car for every long distance trip for the life of your Model 3 and still come out ahead.

I really don't think that long distance supercharging for free will break the network. It's very possible Tesla is making a $34k car, with $1k set aside for long-distance supercharging costs/maintenance. The supercharger network is cheaper than advertising that most mainstream carmakers have to spend on, and probably cheaper than the dealer mark-up. There's a lot of ways that free long distance makes perfect sense for Tesla.

Make subscriptions/costs for local supercharging use (<30 mile radius, more than twice a month or something like that) for people who can't charge at home, don't take away Tesla's biggest advantage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MP3Mike
At the time the SuperCharger network was first discussed at Tesla, I suspect the discussion went something like this:

Q: What's another way can we get more people to buy our new Model S luxury cars?
A.: Allow them to take road trips and quickly charge their Model S along the way.

Q: How much should we charge for this service?
A: If we make it free and sell just a few more cars because of it, we can pay for all of the electrons we'll be giving away.

And a possible recent discussion about the Model 3:

Q: With a growing network of SuperChargers in place, should we continue to make it free for the Model 3 too?
A: With Model 3 production capacity limited for some time, there's really no incentive to do this. And we should probably consider eliminating free SuperCharging for future entry level S and X models too.
 
I feel like the "old guy" because I ordered my Model S a year and a half ago and there is some history and precedence for this with none other than Tesla Motors. At that time, to have the car Supercharger enabled, I paid $2000. Tesla has already been through this with the S, and eventually they upped the bas price of the car a bit, I believe, and then "gave it" to everyone getting an S. I know of a fellow S owner who bought without SC capabilities and he doesn't want to use the car for long distance. I use my S for long distance infrequently and I would not be without the capacity.
It makes me sad when a number of you on this thread said you would drive ICE on long trips instead of your Model . I hope you will think about that and pay for SC no matter the cost, but, of course, we have differing needs and situations.
So, IMHO, it will not cost as much as they had it cost with the S, it will cost $1000 forever (a comparable fee for the price of SC enabling of the compared to the S). My 2 cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ElectricIAC
...So, IMHO, it will not cost as much as they had it cost with the S, it will cost $1000 forever (a comparable fee for the price of SC enabling of the compared to the S). My 2 cents.
Interesting points. We early adopters (I think even those buying the Model S now are still early adopters), have been funding much of the cost of building the SC network. By the time the Model ☰ becomes available, the majority of the SC network will be complete, and the cost to maintain and expand it will not be as much.
 
There are many places where the only people allowed to sell electricity by the kwh are the utilities. You (including Tesla) can not re-sell electricity to others. You can sell electricity to a utility (net metering w/ solar for example) but that's it. This is not everywhere mind you, but it's in enough places that setting up different styles of billing would be a huge pain for Tesla.

I have no idea what Tesla will wind up doing, but it's a safe bet they won't be charging by the kwh. Perhaps by time hooked up? I'm leaning towards flat rate though.