Today, the SC network is a 'cost center'.
I have to agree with this statement. Many people don't realize that the cost of superchargers to Tesla is more than $2500/car. Let me show you a detailed calculation:
1. Supercharger hardware:
According to
this source, in May 2015 Tesla said each station costs $270,000. At the end of May 2015, there were 2870 stalls in 479 stations. That's an average of 5.99 stalls per station. Therefore, cost per stall was 270,000/5,99= $45,063. The reason I'm calculating stalls is because today's stations have more stalls. Therefore cost per stall will be more accurate.
At the end of Q2 2016, worldwide, Tesla had 4009 supercharge stalls and 136,652 deliveries. Some S60's and S40's don't have supercharging. So let's assume 132,652. That means 4009/132,652= 0.0302 stalls per vehicle. In other words, the cost of supercharger hardware is 0.0302*$45,063= $1,362/car
2. Vehicle hardware:
I have no idea about this. Let's say $200/car.
3. Electricity:
66% of all Teslas were sold in the USA. So I will use USA prices. The average price is $0.12/kWh.
Assuming each supercharge session is from 25% to 90%, that's 65%. Assuming average battery is 85 kWh, that would be 0.65*85= 55.25 kWh, which would cost 55.25*0.12= $6.63 per session.
According to
this survey with 243 owners, on average Tesla drivers supercharge 27.1 times/year. So that's 27.1*$6.63= $179.67 per year. For the lifetime of the car, let's say for 12 years, that would be 12*$179.67= $2,156/car
Total cost of supercharging = $1362 (for supercharger hardware) + $200 (for vehicle hardware) + $2,156 (for electricity)
=
$3,718/car