Tesla has announced it will begin charging Tesla owners who charge their vehicles using its ‘Supercharger Network’.
Tesla owners will still get 400kWh free supercharging credits (roughly 1,000 miles) each year. Once that amount has been used, drivers will pay “a small fee to supercharge which will be charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car”. The company said it would release the details of the programme later this year, adding “our Supercharger Network will never be a profit centre”. There are currently 144 superchargers in the UK, split across 3 stations in Scotland, 1 in Wales and 29 in England. There are currently no supercharging stations in Wales or Northern Ireland.
Explaining the change, the company commented: “Just as you would charge your mobile phone, we believe the best way to charge your car is either at home or at work, during the hours you’re not using it. For travellers, the Supercharger Network has become a powerful, unique benefit of Tesla ownership. As we approach the launch of Model 3, this update will enable us to greatly expand our Supercharger Network, providing customers with the best possible user experience and bringing sustainable transport to even more people.”
The changes will not affect current owners or anyone who places an order before 1 January 2017 and take delivery by the end of March 2017.
In July, Ecotricity announced it was going to begin charging customers using its ‘Electric Highway’ car charging network. It initially said it would charge £5 for a 20 minute charging session, but after customer pressure said it would charge £6 for a 30 minute session.
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