It was told to them up front that Supercharging was built into the cost of the car. So it is fair to an extent.
Being 'fair' is like being 'just'. All you have to do is what you said you were going to do. If you do what you said, and the other guy agreed to it, then you are being both fair and just.
Overall, the whole point of the Supercharger network is to show that an EV can be nearly as convenient as a gas car for travelling long distances. Tesla is paying for this entire network themselves to make sure it gets done properly. Other companies would have gotten the government to cover the costs. There is $500 million study being done by the government just to DECIDE what national system might work. That study will be done in a few years.
The money is still there, in a $25,000,000,000 allotment that was made during the Bush Administration for what was called the
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. Ford got just under 6 billion bucks, Nissan around 3 billion, and Tesla Motors less than half a billion bucks
(which they already paid back). So, around 16 billion bucks is available to either design new cars, or build them, or research their development. And no one from Chrysler, General Motors, or Toyota is willing to touch it.
Tesla is being pro-active. Just because their initial idea said that they would cover all the costs through sales of cars doesn't mean that after a few years they've learned there are better ways to do this.
Nothing at all wrong with identifying a goal, then determining that the best way to reach it is to do everything yourself. It saves time, and allows you to make progress that Naysayers would claim was 'impossible' to achieve. And, it is merely prudent to reevaluate something that has been working to determine if there is another means to accomplish the same goal at a later date in a better way.
In modern times, I don't see any reason there couldn't be different programs based on a consumers needs.
1. An overall buy in to the network with unlimited charges at unlimited stations. This is similar to the current system. A top of the line car might get this thrown in as a thank you for buying all the extras.
2. A yearly or monthly buy in based on need. Some of us don't take long distance trips regularly.
3. A "pay as you go" plan. Tesla keeps a credit card number on file and charges it when you use a Supercharger. It can be done by an app.
4. Each car comes with an allotment of time for Supercharger use on a monthly basis. You pay for the amount you exceed that amount of time. So you get some use free but pay for any excessive use.
As long as the prices aren't too crazy then I think this is reasonably fair. It also controls the usage to an extent.
Yeah. All that offers a whole bunch of
'choice'. Here the problem is... The reality is that most people are entirely incapable of determining which
'choice' is the best one for them. They refuse to accept any liability for their own decisions, even as they make demands. Even a simple binary choice, yes or no, yea or nay, black or white, HMO or PPO, is incredibly stressful for people to figure out in the real world. So, offering a potential of five different choices will absolutely blow their minds.
What they will DEMAND is that YOU make things EASY for them. That's why it is best to do things one, particular way that you determine yourself is the singular best choice for the grand majority of your potential Customer base. Then, as a significant portion of your existing Customers demand another solution, perhaps 20% of them, you can consider expanding the offerings to cover their needs. Until such a predetermined threshold is reached, the phrase
'My Way or the Highway', softened somewhat to
'We Are So Sorry We Are Currently Unable to Fulfill Your Needs', is an appropriate response. Followed, of course, by a hasty
'Have a Nice Day!'
Besides, for all the potential 'solutions' that are bandied about, none is as simple, straightforward, direct, and to-the-point as saying...
- Just buy a car. Use Superchargers for free. For the life of the car. As often as you like. Wherever you like. Period.
- But, pretty please, with sugar on top, don't be a [DONKEY] about it, taking up a parking space all day or all night when you don't need to... Be courteous and considerate of the charging needs of others. Because you are not the only Tesla owner in the world. Thanks.
Once Tesla has reached a certain point where they have built a large solar farm to cover the entire usage of the system they can switch it over to a completely free system. Their intent is there but it certainly hasn't happened yet and they have a lot of other things to do for the next decade before they can afford to do something like that.
Meh. Other companies can build the solar farms. Tesla Motors can simply buy the electricity from them. Regions with geothermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear sources of electricity might be so incredibly inexpensive that using solar was unnecessary. Don't worry about it.
