I've said this before and I say it again, a system where you charge unlimited penalty charges during annual service visits, with only a 5 minute grace no less on a unpredictable ending time, is just inviting trouble for all involved. It makes it hard to note such charges and their accumulation accurately, which quickly leads to unreasonable situations for all - as in this case.
It is very, very difficult to see how it is in Tesla's long term interests to surprise customers with possible hundreds or thousands of dollars (this case was, what, a month after the charges started - imagine 12 months...) of surprise charges at service visits. Remember, people don't take Teslas to service centers that often... Even if the customer is "guilty", accumulating year(s) worth of payments on the background and then facing the customer with it is not the stuff that makes for a great customer experience. If people become apprehensive about the service center visit, that is not good for anyone.
If the idle charges must be, they really have to invest in a more predictable and charge-as-you-go system. Surprise charges help nobody as they are not even encouraging moving the car...
As for the local vs. long-distance Supercharging, I remain of the opinion that until the "free long-distance" wording change and the notice round to locally charging owners, a reasonable Tesla buyer could well conclude local Supercharging was OK and factor that into their purchase decision. Tesla's own staff was very liberal in touting this advantage and Tesla's guidance and disclaimers were vague at best. Tesla one-sidedly changing that narrative later... well.
Anyway, this is not the last time we hear of large bills appearing on the service invoice.
