The beginning of the end of free Supercharging ?

[dmurphy]

The optimist in me did not agree with the argument that Tesla was trying get rid of unlimited free supercharging. This recent Tesla offer is making me rethink my optimism.

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To be fair, "unlimited" anything is a nightmare for accountants. It creates an essentially endless liability on the books. No accountant in their right mind wants to deal with that!

Hence, why things like "6 year Supercharging" is much easier for them to offer -- they can create the liability, expense it over the term, and be done with it. The unlimited liabilities need to be carried forever.

As Tesla grows exponentially in size, I suspect that marketing tricks like FUSC become basically unbearable to deal with. Falls in the "it was a good idea at the time ...." realm.

 

[tesluv108]

The optimist in me did not agree with the argument that Tesla was trying get rid of unlimited free supercharging. This recent Tesla offer is making me rethink my optimism.

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This cracks me up. “Or remove from current vehicle”.

 

[dmurphy]

This cracks me up. “Or remove from current vehicle”.

Why? All it means is you can buy a new vehicle, NOT trade in your current one, and still get 6 years of Supercharging on the new vehicle. You'd just lose it on the old one.

Might make sense for someone who owns an older model, decides to keep it as a local get-around car (maybe one with range losses?) and still get a benefit on a new purchase.

For example, say you own a 2014 S. Pass it down to your kid, get yourself a new one + 6 years of supercharging.

Not a bad deal, all things considered.

 

[dwbv]

I don't think it's an "if" but a "when". Eventually the mass majority of FUSC car owners will succumb to the fact that old cars out of warranty will no longer be practical to own financially.

There will be outliers in the mass but not enough to make an impact in the grand scheme of things.

 

[geordi]

The attempts to entice people to give up the "has no value" enhancement.... Are hilarious.

If it had no value, then why care if people had it or not? Because CLEARLY it has value. My own usage is a perfect example, nearly 60k miles in the last year, and 88% supercharging. Hell yes that has a value! I've not bought about $18,000 in fuel and probably about $14,800 in electric at the 45c rates I have seen.

They can have the supercharging when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. Elon has enough money, he can afford it.

 

[tesluv108]

The attempts to entice people to give up the "has no value" enhancement.... Are hilarious.

If it had no value, then why care if people had it or not? Because CLEARLY it has value. My own usage is a perfect example, nearly 60k miles in the last year, and 88% supercharging. Hell yes that has a value! I've not bought about $18,000 in fuel and probably about $14,800 in electric at the 45c rates I have seen.

They can have the supercharging when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. Elon has enough money, he can afford it.

How do you drive so much? I might start a side gig giving rides to the airport just to stick it to the man!

 

[geordi]

How do you drive so much? I might start a side gig giving rides to the airport just to stick it to the man!

Traveling for work. I've been out to California and the PNW 3 times, and to Connecticut and the NorthEast about 7 times. From Florida.

I just got back a couple days ago from an entire month on the road and about 9,000 miles.

 

[ucmndd]

The attempts to entice people to give up the "has no value" enhancement.... Are hilarious.

Who said it has no value? Of course it does, a value built into the sale price of the car. We can see clearly what Tesla values it at these days given the recent bundling and price increase - $2500 for three years average over the fleet.

Your personal use case is a prime example of why unlimited for life is never coming back - all you can eat creates perverse incentives for consumption. It was easy to offer something free when there were like 50 supercharger stations in the country and a couple hundred thousand cars - not so much any more when there’s a supercharger on every corner. Too much opportunity for free fuel (I’m certainly guilty of this myself ).

 

[tesluv108]

Who said it has no value? Of course it does, a value built into the sale price of the car. We can see clearly what Tesla values it at these days given the recent bundling and price increase - $2500 for three years average over the fleet.

Your personal use case is a prime example of why unlimited for life is never coming back - all you can eat creates perverse incentives for consumption. It was easy to offer something free when there were like 50 supercharger stations in the country and a couple hundred thousand cars - not so much any more when there’s a supercharger on every corner. Too much opportunity for free fuel (I’m certainly guilty of this myself ).

What state are you in? Ohio is sorely lacking charging infrastructure. That being said they finally rolled out 2 near me

 

[RIB-JIG]

...an entire month on the road and about 9,000 miles.

hotels must love all your business...

if Tesla outright offers (6) yr FUSC with new S or X, I'm there, (3) yrs not enough...
have been shopping 2016 used transferable FUSC, waiting for good deal
but now wondering about flipping 2016 for new (6) yr FUSC...but price of
flipped 2016 will drop thousands without FUSC, right...?

 

[geordi]

Yes, the value of a classic Tesla is significantly reduced without that FUSC.

 

[maximizese]

I'm enjoying my FUSC but to be honest, if Tesla changed the policy to 6K free Supercharging miles each year it would be about the same for me. I think the most I've ever driven our S in a year was 25K miles (those days are long gone thanks to remote working) and according to the Charging Stats through the Tesla app, approximately 25% of our charging has been through Supercharger last year. Over the last 3 years, we average about 9K miles a year, so anywhere between 2,200-6,000 free Supercharging miles would be an equitable trade in my case. I know some folks drive substantially more than me, so that number will be different for everyone.

Then there's the other issue of the rising cost of electricity in many regions that can thwart the economic case for EVs...something us FUSC folks probably pay less attention to compared to others. I'm starting to see some articles stating that EVs cost more than ICE per mile but it's mostly click-bait titles with a lot of factors they fail to rationally consider. Of course it CAN be more costly, but I'd have to go out of my way and charge at a 3rd party level 3 EVSE during peak hours...something I'm sure 98% of us have never done.

 

[Gixx1300R]

 

[MP3Mike]

hotels must love all your business...

if Tesla outright offers (6) yr FUSC with new S or X, I'm there, (3) yrs not enough...
have been shopping 2016 used transferable FUSC, waiting for good deal
but now wondering about flipping 2016 for new (6) yr FUSC...but price of
flipped 2016 will drop thousands without FUSC, right...?

Buy a totaled Model S with FUSC, convert the FUSC to 6-years on a new S/X, then send the salvage Model S back to the auction.

 

[dmurphy]

Buy a totaled Model S with FUSC, convert the FUSC to 6-years on a new S/X, then send the salvage Model S back to the auction.

Just be fast -- Tesla changes incentives more often than Elon changes underwear.

 

[geordi]

Buy a totaled Model S with FUSC, convert the FUSC to 6-years on a new S/X, then send the salvage Model S back to the auction.

I'm not sure that would work, they already strip out the supercharging entirely (paid or otherwise!) when a Tesla is totaled by an insurance company. Not sure they need to see it transferred but an insurance auction branding the title would definitely qualify as a transfer.

Even if it worked, if they discovered it after the fact, you'd probably find yourself on the wrong end of a nasty letter alleging fraud.

 

[MP3Mike]

I'm not sure that would work, they already strip out the supercharging entirely (paid or otherwise!) when a Tesla is totaled by an insurance company.

They turn off Supercharging ability, but not FUSC. You can have the vehicle repaired and re-certified to get Supercharging turned back on with FUSC still intact. (Assuming an old Model S with transferrable FUSC.) So, I see no reason you couldn't just transfer the FUSC portion as part of that promotion.

 

[geordi]

Hmmm.... Interesting angle. I didn't know they left the SC status unaffected if they turned it back on, so with that in mind, it might work.

 

[djlott]

Interesting that when I log on to my Tesla.com account, I am only offered 3 years FUSC instead of 6. Anyone know why? I have a 2017 MS non-transferable FUSC. Perhaps that's why?

 

[tesluv108]

Interesting that when I log on to my Tesla.com account, I am only offered 3 years FUSC instead of 6. Anyone know why? I have a 2017 MS non-transferable FUSC. Perhaps that's why?

I’m sure Tesla has to press a few buttons after you sign that document for you to get the 6 years.