New Tesla buyers no longer get free Supercharger use after today
One of the big features of Tesla cars before the Model 3 rolled out was that they included free Supercharger station use for life. The only Model 3 that included free Supercharger network use was the performance version. Any free use for new buyers has now ended. New Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 buyers will have to pay to charge each time they want to.
There is a way to get around paying for Model S, X, and 3 Performance buyers for now. Buyers looking for one of these rides will need to order today using a referral code from an existing Tesla owner. Once today passes, the referral program will give users $100 of Supercharging credit to the new buyers.
This change was confirmed by Elon Musk on Twitter on September 15. Speculation suggests that Tesla is trying to turn up the order volume for its cars before the end of the year. Ending free Supercharger network use might be just the way to do that as people who have been on the fence about ordering might decide to order.
Tesla owners can grant free Supercharging for life to a friend who buys S/3/X. Ends tomorrow night. https://t.co/7ZDXeIQVc7"
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 15, 2018
Tesla will certainly make more money off the Supercharger network with people paying to use the chargers. It remains to be seen if this move hurts Tesla sales in the future, free Supercharging was certainly a big benefit for buyers shopping for an EV.
A price has been put on the cost of the electricity that Tesla has given away for free to Supercharger users. Electrek reports that the network has delivered over 400 GWh of electricity and that use is growing. Had the electricity been sold by Tesla it would have made as much as $100 million.
SOURCE: Electrek