Will Life Free Unlimited Supercharging come back?

[Maximilien]

So it seems like it will be gone.

They changed the wordings from giving 1 year for free to $100 credit. Tesla reminds me of the Apple back when Apple gave out the free printer AND iPod touch for free for buying Macbook Pro in 2000's. Then Apple dropped those and then started to give out iTune cards worth $50-$100.

I think Tesla is following the same path to save the cost.

My guess is that they won't be back for now but do you guys think when Model S 2.0 or Roadster comes, they will be back?
I may trigger Model S 2.0 purchase if they introduce back. If not, it becomes debatable.

What do you guys think?

 

[glide]

Has it ever really gone away?

 

[gaswalla]

I don't think this is a cost issue... It's a matter of controlling demand at the superchargers and also about using the perk of free supercharger access as a lever to get folks to finalize their orders now vs later...if it comes back, it could be end of q4 depending on the need to encourage folks to take delivery by year end - my guess is that the 7500 tax incentive expiring 12/31 is enough of an incentive, and supercharger access will not be used as a lever at least until March of 2019

 

[Maximilien]

Has it ever really gone away?

No, but this time Tesla seems serious by discontinuing to Model S, and X as well.

 

[cpa]

Tesla will continue to have promotions and other incentives to increase sales periodically. It is certainly within the realm of possibility that Tesla will offer a super-duper package for S and X (and maybe the M3 performance) in the future that includes free, unlimited, Supercharging. It will be bundled with other items for $10,000 or some other figure.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

No, but this time Tesla seems serious by discontinuing to Model S, and X as well.

They discontinued it for S and X back in January 2017, only to bring it back retroactively around June 2017. I opted to do a change order from the 90D to the 100D in mid January and lost free supercharging as part of that change. Happy to get it back though!

 

[boonedocks]

My S100D was sold as 400kWh of charging per year. About 2 months later all of us that had purchased then were pro-actively given free Supercharging for life on that car and it will not transfer.

So we “understood” at purchase that SuperCharging for life had ended and it was a ploy to push the remaining S90D’s out the door. Once those were all sold viola we were given free SuperCharging and future buyers also got it. Who knows what Tesla will do as “Things Change”

 

[Maximilien]

They discontinued it for S and X back in January 2017, only to bring it back retroactively around June 2017. I opted to do a change order from the 90D to the 100D in mid January and lost free supercharging as part of that change. Happy to get it back though!

This.

This can be a mess because of retro. If they don't do retro, the old customers will get angry by saying "How is that new customers get one, and we don't get one?"

So say in 2019 near March, Tesla want to raise the sales. They introduce the FUSC (Free Unlimited SuperCharging). There is a good chance people who missed out will complain and request they should get too. At least Tesla let retro on Supercharging all the time so far.

Then we will have MORE people clogging the superchargers. While I would be happy to see new happy Tesla owners, lets face it folks. It will only get crowded by letting more FUSC with retro.

As far as I know, Tesla spends quite a good portion of its money on installing superchargers. I am sure Tesla hires many good business analysts of car sales vs giving FUSC correlation, but it may be against its own interest.

However, I don't complain because in 2017 it triggered me into buying Model X for the FUSC. Had it not that way, I would be just driving Model S now.

But Tesla's keep reintroducing the FUSC may not work for itself and in Southern CA, it is already clogging with the advent of M3.

 

[Maximilien]

My S100D was sold as 400kWh of charging per year. About 2 months later all of us that had purchased then were pro-actively given free Supercharging for life of on that car and it will no transfer.

So we “understood” at purchase that SuperCharging for life had ended and it was a ploy to push the remaining S90D’s our the door. Once those were all sold viola we were given free SuperCharging and future buyers als got it. Who knows what Tesla will do as “Things Change”

True. Congrats on your 100D and your wise decision. I know quite many people chose for 90D for FUSC over 100D. With price difference of $3K back then, the 100D was definitely better for 17 kWh more juice. Fortunately, many 90D owners who chose before FUSC went away did not complain as much as I expected.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

I freely admit would have been pretty peeved if FUSC had been the deciding factor and kept the 90D I had on order!

 

[bob_p]

When Tesla started installing the supercharger network, vehicles were provided "free lifetime long distance charging". It appears Tesla expected owners to use the superchargers only during road trips, with the superchargers installed originally between cities.

What they evidently didn't anticipate is two groups of heavy supercharger users - commercial operators doing daily supercharging and owners without any easy access to overnight charging using urban superchargers for their charging.

It seems highly unlikely we'll see lifetime FUSC (Free Unlimited Supercharging) return, because Tesla never intended to provide lifetime charging for free for commercial operators or urban supercharger users.

However, it does seem likely we'll see Tesla provide some form of lifetime FLSC (Free Limited Supercharging), that would cover annual supercharging for most owners (charging for excess charging). Initially that was 400KWh per year - now it's $100 per year, which is likely enough to cover annual supercharging for most owners.

The supercharger network can be a significant benefit for Tesla owners - something other manufacturers won't be able to match. So it seems likely that as Tesla starts seeing more competition, they'll find a way to leverage the supercharger network - especially for Tesla's higher priced models (S/X/Roadster 2.0).

 

[RedMS]

I personally see it gone for the foreseeable future. Even Elon tweeted about it yesterday. I don’t recall that he’s done that before in regards to ending free supercharging

 

[brkaus]

I believe the credit is $100? Not $100/yr?

 

[emmz0r]

Does it follow the owner, or is it gone if I happen to order a new Model S in, say, 3 years?

 

[TexLaw]

I can see it coming back for early Roadster buyers, but that's it for the foreseeable future.

 

[brkaus]

Does it follow the owner, or is it gone if I happen to order a new Model S in, say, 3 years?

Currently no owner following...

 

[boonedocks]

True. Congrats on your 100D and your wise decision. I know quite many people chose for 90D for FUSC over 100D. With price difference of $3K back then, the 100D was definitely better for 17 kWh more juice. Fortunately, many 90D owners who chose before FUSC went away did not complain as much as I expected.

So true. I wanted the 100D for range and really could not have cared less about FUSC. I have never understood the “allure” of FUSC other than human nature concerning the word “free”. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. To each his own tho so I don’t judge.

 

[RayW]

For me, getting $10 worth of electrons for free is irrelevant… but waiting an hour in line to charge when trying to get home from vacation on a Sunday afternoon is detrimental to the Tesla brand. In other words, an open stall is worth far more than free electrons, so free charging needs to go away.
Case in point: on my last trip to the Qualcomm charger the four cars around me were locals charging up for free.

 

[boonedocks]

True. Congrats on your 100D and your wise decision. I know quite many people chose for 90D for FUSC over 100D. With price difference of $3K back then, the 100D was definitely better for 17 kWh more juice. Fortunately, many 90D owners who chose before FUSC went away did not complain as much as I expected.

Not to derail this thread but after reading the 1,000’s of threads about the 90 batteries I am doubly glad I opted for the 100kWh battery

 

[whitex]

It will make appearances as a sales lever from time to time. This was not one of the voting choices, there should at least be "other" choice.