Superchargers for Model 3

[MrBoylan]

They can send all the notes they want about whether or not a person is not being cool, but that is meaningless from a contractual viewpoint.

How often is occasionally? Is it based on time or number of miles driven?
What is the penalty for doing it more than occasionally?
How cool are you allowed to be if you are forgetful about charging at home and also have an unexpected trip?
How long is long distance travel? 30 miles each way? 100? 214?

How is it fair that a person who lives in an apartment gets free local supercharging but someone who has a garage doesn't? They both paid the same amount for the car.

I agree and this is why I think there will be explicit details in the Model 3 owner's agreement (and maybe even sooner in the Model S and X agreements) that clarify the terms of use.

Remember when CostCo used to take electronics items back for any reason forever? It didn't take too many people returning their 5 year old HDTVs for a full refund before CostCo finally eliminated that perk. They still have an awesome return policy, but not as generous as it once was on electronics items. If Tesla feels that people are "abusing" the Supercharger system, then they will need to formalize the policy a bit more than they have.

 

[MP3Mike]

The quote I got from Tesla PR is: "All Model 3 will have the capability for Supercharging. We haven't specified (and aren't right now) whether supercharging will be free."

Interesting considering that their Model 3 page shows that the base includes supercharging.

 

[M0DEL B]

My initial reaction was that supercharging would be free but the more I see the more I think they were just talking about capability and not actual use.

The Model S and X pages state "Free long distance travel on Tesla's expanding Supercharger network" whereas the Model 3 page just states "Supercharging - Long Distance Travel"

 

[Bighorn]

Mr Boylan
Thanks for confirming what seemed to be Elonspeak for it's not free.

 

[Weezer Fan]

I hear you but I don't think they'll "discount" the price of the Model 3 for those who don't want/need supercharging. If it's free on all cars, then Tesla clearly believes they'll be able to pay for the SC network's expansion and maintenance somehow or another (through sale of the cars, presumably).

Supercharging is a core feature of the Tesla ecosystem. Even if you never use it, the idea that it is available to you gives you peace of mind that you can take long distance trips any time you need to. One place where I do agree with @Red Sage is that keeping Supercharging free on all Teslas is a huge psychological advantage in furthering the adoption of EVs. I just didn't believe they'd be able to afford to do that without making it a paid option. But again, this is one area in which I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

I just e-mailed the PR gals at Tesla to see if they can clarify that. But in my articles, I'm saying that it's standard (e.g., "free") on the base model.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear in what I meant by the cheaper car. What I am describing, is that if the Model 3 is supercharger capable, but free charging isn't part of the deal, I'm ok with that. At a base price of 35K instead of 70 to 80 K for a Model S, it is still a great value for me. Because I would only anticipate using the superchargers maybe six times a year. I did not mean to imply that I would expect to receive a discount on top of the base price to not use the superchargers.

 

[jacobp]

In my view Supercharging should be an extra charge for Model 3 owners. The price per "fill up" should be less than a tank of gas but more than the prevailing charge for an equivalent amount of electricity. Thus, using the supercharger would be cheaper to the consumer than owning an ICE car and would discourage 'local charging.' Just my 2 cents.

 

[favo]

I think the genuine answer is they don't know if they can offer free, unlimited supercharging for all Teslas forever. They have about 18 months to figure it out. I'm thinking there will be a cap on annual usage, and if you need more, you can put money in your MyTesla account and get more kWh. This way they don't have to have a payment mechanism at the superchargers. (I suspect superchargers will get a software update that allows them to check your VIN to determine limits, although reports are that they don't check it now.)

 

[MassModel3]

Mr Boylan
Thanks for confirming what seemed to be Elonspeak for it's not free.

Plus, the presentation behind Musk simply states "supercharging capability" regardless of the words coming out of his mouth.

 

[MP3Mike]

My initial reaction was that supercharging would be free but the more I see the more I think they were just talking about capability and not actual use.

The Model S and X pages state "Free long distance travel on Tesla's expanding Supercharger network" whereas the Model 3 page just states "Supercharging - Long Distance Travel"

But the Model 3 page doesn't list any options. It says Autopilot safety features, but doesn't saying anything about full Autopilot features.

That makes it seem fairly clear that Supercharging is included. (Which matches what Elon said.)

 

[Az_Rael]

But the Model 3 page doesn't list any options. It says Autopilot safety features, but doesn't saying anything about full Autopilot features.

That makes it seem fairly clear that Supercharging is included. (Which matches what Elon said.)

So I suppose the real question is unlimited supercharging included.

I know in the past he has made statements about free long distance for life, and all of that was notably absent. So I think it's a distinct possibility that there will be some form of cost with supercharging. I don't think it will be an up front "upgrade" like the 60, but may be some limited allotment of kWh annually or something.

 

[Bimbels]

I have no problem paying for it, as someone who uses SCs regularly with my commute. They are required for the type of driving I do, which is part of the reason this car is appealing to me over other EVs. I just hope whatever the charge is is fair and reasonable.

I'm not sure how they'd work that out, though. I don't think it's fair to charge a flat fee when so many will only use it once in a great while. But I also agree with Red Sage that tesla wants to keep it simple - for them and us.

 

[stopcrazypp]

So I suppose the real question is unlimited supercharging included.

I know in the past he has made statements about free long distance for life, and all of that was notably absent. So I think it's a distinct possibility that there will be some form of cost with supercharging. I don't think it will be an up front "upgrade" like the 60, but may be some limited allotment of kWh annually or something.

It says "long distance" on the page, but like you, I noted that throughout the presentation there was no mention of "free". So I agree with the others that Tesla is probably evaluating payment options.

 

[MiamiNole]

So I suppose the real question is unlimited supercharging included.

I know in the past he has made statements about free long distance for life, and all of that was notably absent. So I think it's a distinct possibility that there will be some form of cost with supercharging. I don't think it will be an up front "upgrade" like the 60, but may be some limited allotment of kWh annually or something.

I was just about to type the same thing you said. I don't necessarily think that not mentioning "free long distance for the life of the car" means that Model 3 users will have to pay to use superchargers. Most likely there will be a free supercharger use with an overall kWh limit before you have to pay. With the masses of people reserving Model 3s, I'm sure they didn't want to say anything to cause a large number of people to automatically think that they can go to town (literally, haha) on superchargers at will. Likely just playing it safe until the infrastructure gets built out.

 

[sandpiper]

Yep... Once the pool of owners gets large enough there will be a certain percentage that will abuse it to the detriment of the rest of us. There has already been a bit of the in the Model S community, and it will be worse with the Model 3. Tesla has no real choice but to prevent that.

 

[Bangor Bob]

Guys... Let it go. The hoi-polloi are crashing your party starting late next year.

 

[MiamiNole]

I would say that knowing upfront that you would have to pay for supercharger use out of the gate would be a bummer compared to "free supercharger use up to a certain limit". The SC network is one of the selling points of Tesla. Free supercharger use makes it even more appealing, even if it's up to a certain amount. If the average person can use the SC network truly for the intended use of free long distance travel, and we are given free access to easily cover at least the amount of long distance travel an average person takes then I think we're good.

This subject reminds me of unlimited data with Verizon. I had been grandfathered into unlimited data for the longest. Then last fall, Verizon said they were increasing the price for unlimited data by $30/month. On average, I only had been using about 4-5 GB per month so paying more to keep unlimited data was not economically feasible to me. I switched to a shared Verizon XXL plan with my wife for 18GB (+2GB free per life with a recent promotion) and we are actually spending less on data than we did with individual plans. Yes, I know I now have a limit, but I likely will never reach that limit and if for some reason I did in a particular month, I feel it would be more than fair to pay my share for a bit more. YET, you had some people who were on the unlimited plan who were upset with the decision to increase the plan, even though they admitted that they were easily burning through 15-20GB a month (or in some cases more). One could argue that someone using that much data should have to pay more for it, similar to those that use superchargers that much more.

Now, if they want to say that the "free long distance travel for life of the car" on the SC network is built into the cost of the Model S and X, but Model 3 users would have to pay a bit more to have that same benefit, I'd be cool with that. I'd also be cool with a free designated amount of use can be included in the car standard, with those wanting more (or unlimited access) being given the option to pay more up front. Just as long as we don't get into a "pay per charge" model. THAT has been debated into the ground on this forum already.

 

[MrBoylan]

Interesting considering that their Model 3 page shows that the base includes supercharging.

True, and I did point that out to the PR folks. It doesn't say free, but by listing "long distance travel on the Supercharger network" with all the other base model features of the Model 3, and the price of $35,000 under all those features, it isn't much of a stretch to ass-u-me that Supercharger access is included in the base price.

My personal feeling has been that they will charge a flat fee (maybe $2K, maybe less) for unlimited SC access in the base model, but that it would be included in the larger battery model. That's what they were previously doing with the 60 kWH and 85 kWH batteries on the Model S, but then they rolled it into the base price when they replaced the 60 with the 70.

 

[Az_Rael]

The website has been updated! Supercharger Capable now.
Model 3 | Tesla Motors

 

[MassModel3]

The website has been updated! Supercharger Capable now.
Model 3 | Tesla Motors

Nice of them to finally change that on their site. The slide that was behind Elon said that, too (Supercharging capability). So they're simply making sure nobody gets the wrong idea based on unclear statements from Elon (like that's never happened before).

 

[cpa]

Tesla could also design the Supercharger access similarly to the way Sirius/XM and other satellite stations operate. Perhaps the highest-end Model 3 will have the "free for the life of the car" Supercharging enabled.

Less expensive models might receive a one-year "free" subscription for Supercharging upon purchase, and annual or biannual renewals for a fee that is purchased online on Tesla's website. I would assume that this could easily be programmed on the owner's "My Tesla" webpage to link the VIN with the purchase and the expiry date.

This way, new owners will be able to take road trips the first year with their car without additional fees. New owners who wish to charge locally will either grow weary and decide to charge at home, or they will continue to pony up cash to renew the subscription.

Tesla could even offer a "short term" package priced comparatively higher for those people who only travel long distances 1-2 times per year.