Model 3 Supercharging Capable Discussion

[GoTslaGo]

my first thought was definitely discourage taxi services using them. They are not only receiving subsidised unlimited fuel but they are using it for commercial gain.

Of course the downside to this is that a Tesla-based taxi service is great marketing for the car.. and taxis do a huge number of km in a day, so changing them from oil to electric does serve the company's overall environment plan well.

I think Taxis will be quick to adopt M 3s or Ys or GM Bolts. Great price point, good luggage spaces and I was recently informed that Sea-Tac airport had instituted a phase out of traditional ICE vehicles for taxis (i.e.--government/non-governmental entity incentives).

Basically when the vehicle in a Taxi fleet is old enough it must be replaced with a hybrid (in Sea-Tac's case, Toyota Prius's) in order to service the airport. Suspect over time this may evolve to include BEVs and Model 3/Y or the Bolt would be a perfect fit. Obviously Bolt will have no impact on superchargers....

 

[rEVhappy]

The trick is to have a simple set of rules that allows supercharging to be truly free when used properly and responsibly, while minimizing abuse and the number of “unfair” corner cases.

So much this. A pay per use charge sounds terrible and will quickly add up if you take plenty of road trips. The key is for the Superchargers and car to recognize if you're further than 100 miles from your 'local area' and you aren't dozing off plugged in while you're taking road trips.

The dream of driving from LA to NY while leaving your wallet at home as mentioned in the SC introduction is still very appealing and liberating. The key is to penalize the abusers/locals while giving everyone else free access if they're using it for the intended purpose.

Tesla, are you listening?

 

[MrBoylan]

Some use cases make such schemes difficult:
#1: Someone who buys a Tesla because they live in an apartment with no available overnight outlet, so they hope to charge daily at their local supercharger.
#2: A car hire service, like a limo service, or Uber driver.

Would Tesla want to discourage / prevent those types of customers?

Yes... and no. Discourage them from using superchargers but encourage them to buy a Tesla. I think Tesla would love for everyone - homeowners, apartment renters, Uber and Lyft drivers, standard yellow cab drivers, etc. to own and/or drive a Tesla. And imagine the impact on the environment by taking all those polluting ICE cars off the road!

But the dilemma is that allowing the above use cases without a significant (and perpetual) upgrade to the Supercharger network is setting current and future Tesla owners up for long lines at the Supercharger stations and setting Tesla up for ever-growing electricity charges. Any problem can be solved with planning, time, effort and (most importantly) money. So if there's a way that Tesla can collect enough money to really beef up the Supercharger network to accommodate all use cases, then great.

But Tesla has been very clear in their communications lately (the last couple of years at least) that Superchargers are intended for long distance travel. So I think there will be clarification about the terms of use of SCs. And hopefully Tesla can come up with some other solution for local charging and professional drivers. Something that is both fair and economically attractive. And it may require a partnership with some third parties to provide this other solution.

Their initiative to install over a hundred HPWC chargers in Manhattan parking garages is one such solution. Apparently there are now more Tesla "charging stations" in Manhattan than there are gas stations. And that's a good start!

Musk did mention that they expect to not only double the number of superchargers worldwide but quadruple the number of destination chargers by the end of 2017. Destination chargers make more sense for local charging. People rarely drive their car 24 hours a day and generally need somewhere to park. So if there were parking options in a city that allowed a Tesla owner to park overnight (or while at work) for a moderate price, and leave with your car topped off and ready to go, that would probably work for most apartment dwellers and professional drivers, right? Parking spots in NYC sell for anywhere from $125/month to $500/month (even higher in certain Manhattan neighborhoods). How much extra would one have to pay for a parking spot with a plug? $25/month? $50/month? Considering there would be no gas expenses, this may be easy to justify.

For a professional driver, they might be a bit limited by 215 miles of range a day (that's probably only about 5-6 hours of city driving), but they could get a larger battery option for the Model 3 and maybe get close to 300 miles of charging a day.

And Tesla could also partner with cab fleet owners to provide destination chargers (or Superchargers) to them at reduced cost as long as they pay the electricity and maintenance costs.

To me something like that would make more sense than allowing free unrestricted access to Superchargers for all owners, whether they're local or on the road.

 

[NewCow]

Reached out to my press contact on if Supercharging will be enabled as standard, and here was the official response:

"All Model 3 will have the capability for Supercharging. We haven't specified (and aren't right now) whether supercharging will be free."

 

[Fiver]

 

[eSpiritIV]

I guess we need to see an "official statement" from Tesla. IT better be included! Thats half of the reason to buy one.

 

[zer0cool]

I don't understand why it would be included. As Model 3 rolls out and as SC becomes more common, people will start to use it like gas stations. It doesn't make sense for a manufacturer to provide the gas... so it makes no sense for Tesla to provide the power... Tesla basically will be operating the equivalent of gas stations. They can easily implement a per charge pricing system. Given they can enable Supercharging on individual cars, you can simply click a UI thing, and say you want supercharging. In the app or on the map, you ll see prices pop up for all nearby SC stations. Let's say each is the local rate + 2 cents per kwh. The app is linked to your Tesla account where you ve stored your CC info. Then you go to a SC, and plug in. Then after you charge, your cc is charged at the advertised rate and you are emailed a receipt.

 

[Bimbels]

I'd be happy to pay a one time fee as long as it's reasonable. I don't think it will be as much as it was for the S60.

 

[FakeStewartAlsop]

If I were to guess, I would say that Tesla will give SuperCharging free for first 12 months, and then let people do a pay-as-you go arrangement after that. Tesla benefits two ways on that. First, they don't need to invest in the software/infrastructure to bill for 3+ years. Second, they get ALL THE TESLAS on the road and much more visible -- kinda like free advertising.

 

[Jason Bourne]

I would prefer a pay-per-use model. I don't really take long trips, where the SC is most useful. But if I do, I want to be able to use it as needed.

 

[dsm363]

I guess we need to see an "official statement" from Tesla. IT better be included! Thats half of the reason to buy one.

Half the reason to get one is that you can Supercharge, not that it's free. Sure it's a huge perk but you can't expect Tesla to continue that for free especially on a car starting at $35,000.

 

[NuG]

I don't understand why it would be included. As Model 3 rolls out and as SC becomes more common, people will start to use it like gas stations. It doesn't make sense for a manufacturer to provide the gas... so it makes no sense for Tesla to provide the power... Tesla basically will be operating the equivalent of gas stations. They can easily implement a per charge pricing system. Given they can enable Supercharging on individual cars, you can simply click a UI thing, and say you want supercharging. In the app or on the map, you ll see prices pop up for all nearby SC stations. Let's say each is the local rate + 2 cents per kwh. The app is linked to your Tesla account where you ve stored your CC info. Then you go to a SC, and plug in. Then after you charge, your cc is charged at the advertised rate and you are emailed a receipt.

I like this pay per use idea. It will also lower the lines and wait times if folks had to pay for it.

 

[AUSinator]

To be honest I don't expect to get gas free. I believe Tesla should make a small profit every time somebody uses the supercharger. There in the business to make money there not a charity. I'll be happy to pay $20 or what ever it is. It's still going to be less than petrol. If it free it will get abused and you are more likely to wait in line once all the m3 come.

 

[Trips]

I like the pay-per-use model instead of the pay upfront. If unlimited is built into the cost you will have people using them to save a few dollars when they could charge at home. This could cause someone traveling across the country to have to wait. If they can get the charge time under 10 minutes this might not matter as much.

 

[Jason Bourne]

I like the pay-per-use model instead of the pay upfront. If unlimited is built into the cost you will have people using them to save a few dollars when they could charge at home. This could cause someone traveling across the country to have to wait. If they can get the charge time under 10 minutes this might not matter as much.

This has happened (people using a local SC frequently instead of charging at their house). Tesla tracks it and has slapped their wrist.

 

[PJFW8]

Pay per use would also allow for Tesla to recover the cost of new stations. But I wonder if the current owners of Tesla Supercharging parking spots will want a share in the profits? For me, I would gladly pay "as you go" for the 3 long trips I take each year. This might encourage competition and cooperation with Ford, GM, Audi, BMW etc.

 

[ggnykk]

Supercharging shouldn't be free for Model 3, otherwise it will cause massive congestion and abuse in superchargers worldwide.

 

[PJFW8]

I agree with ggnykk

 

[MP3Mike]

Supercharging shouldn't be free for Model 3, otherwise it will cause massive congestion and abuse in superchargers worldwide.

Of course it won't be free, just like it has never been free. With the Model S it either came baked in to the price of the car, like on the 70/85/90s, or it was an option like on the 60.

Tesla probably doesn't know yet because they don't know exactly how much the car is going to cost to make. Once they know how much profit there is in the car when priced at $35k they will be able to decide if they can bake the ~$2k Supercharging cost into the base car, or if it needs to be an option on the base car but is baked in to the cost of the range/battery upgrade option.

I would be willing to bet my $2k Supercharging option cost that there will not be a pay-as-you-go option. It is going to be an all-or-nothing approach.

 

[davidc18]

I guess we need to see an "official statement" from Tesla. IT better be included! Thats half of the reason to buy one.

I would expect it to be enabled as a $1500 option.