Hi all,
Could you tell me whether the six mos supercharge policy will be changed to lifetime supercharging?
Could you tell me whether the six mos supercharge policy will be changed to lifetime supercharging?
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Will six mos supercharge policy be changed to lifetime supercharging
- Thread starter Linda orange
- Start date
zanary
Active Member
Not likely. He said that it was not sustainable. 6 months it is, and maybe in the future that will go away as well. Supercharging will be a "Pay as you Need It" service.
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
I expect unlimited supercharging for the first owner to be brought back as a demand lever pretty much whenever Tesla feels like it. See end of quarter/end of year/ specific models (P3D for a bit, when prior thereto the 3 “would never have unlimited supercharging”) as in the past.
In other words, we’ve learned to never say never. Or, if you prefer, bait and switch if you were trying to buy a 100D in the Spring of 2017, only to be told you couldn’t unless you paid for supercharging, and then 4 weeks later, Tesla reverses that decision and credited everyone who has been charged. Of course, it was too late for those who passed on the 100D.
Net net, future SCing inclusion (or not) won’t matter for most of us unless we just happen to be considering getting another Tesla at that specific time.
So.... no, except for every now and then, infrequently at best.
Unless and until Tesla will need unlimited supercharging as a competitive advantage, and yes, that day will come. Of course, by then, charging will have become much more ubiquitous.
In other words, we’ve learned to never say never. Or, if you prefer, bait and switch if you were trying to buy a 100D in the Spring of 2017, only to be told you couldn’t unless you paid for supercharging, and then 4 weeks later, Tesla reverses that decision and credited everyone who has been charged. Of course, it was too late for those who passed on the 100D.
Net net, future SCing inclusion (or not) won’t matter for most of us unless we just happen to be considering getting another Tesla at that specific time.
So.... no, except for every now and then, infrequently at best.
Unless and until Tesla will need unlimited supercharging as a competitive advantage, and yes, that day will come. Of course, by then, charging will have become much more ubiquitous.
When Tesla originally introduced the superchargers, they included Free Unlimited Long Distance Charging with the vehicles. They evidently expected the superchargers would only be used for long distance road trips, and the first superchargers were only placed on major highways between cities. Tesla assumed owners would normally recharge their vehicles overnight at home, and the superchargers would only be used on road trips.
What they evidently didn't anticipate was the large number of owners who don't have access to overnight charging - and instead use the superchargers for all or most of their charging. Plus there are a few commercial operators who are using the superchargers to quickly recharge during the day.
While offering FUSC (Free Unlimited lifetime Supercharging) is a great marketing message - especially when other manufacturers relying n 3rd party charging networks would have difficulty matching that - Tesla can't afford to provide free charging to those vehicles that don't have their own overnight chargers.
Will FUSC ever return - probably not.
However, Tesla could bring back FULDC - by only providing the free charging when the supercharger is located far enough from "home" to ensure the charging is being done on a road trip - such as only providing free charging when a vehicle is clearly on a road trip (at least 100 miles away from "home"?).
The annual cost per vehicle for providing FULDC is really not that much - though with Tesla's push to profitability, it seems less likely they'll consider adding back a lifetime charging cost per vehicle, unless it helps them compete more effectively against the wave of new long range EVs hitting the market soon.
What they evidently didn't anticipate was the large number of owners who don't have access to overnight charging - and instead use the superchargers for all or most of their charging. Plus there are a few commercial operators who are using the superchargers to quickly recharge during the day.
While offering FUSC (Free Unlimited lifetime Supercharging) is a great marketing message - especially when other manufacturers relying n 3rd party charging networks would have difficulty matching that - Tesla can't afford to provide free charging to those vehicles that don't have their own overnight chargers.
Will FUSC ever return - probably not.
However, Tesla could bring back FULDC - by only providing the free charging when the supercharger is located far enough from "home" to ensure the charging is being done on a road trip - such as only providing free charging when a vehicle is clearly on a road trip (at least 100 miles away from "home"?).
The annual cost per vehicle for providing FULDC is really not that much - though with Tesla's push to profitability, it seems less likely they'll consider adding back a lifetime charging cost per vehicle, unless it helps them compete more effectively against the wave of new long range EVs hitting the market soon.
Tic-tac-toe
Member
We have free life long supercharging as long as we own our car. The supercharging goes with the owner not the car so if the car is sold, the next owner doesn’t have free supercharging.
This was through a promotion run theough Tesla showrooms that ended 9/16/18 for model S,X and 3. Part of the reason Tesla had a record third quarter.
I suspect free supercharging will be a promotion that Tesla runs every time they need a bump in sales.... or maybe not. Who knows?
This was through a promotion run theough Tesla showrooms that ended 9/16/18 for model S,X and 3. Part of the reason Tesla had a record third quarter.
I suspect free supercharging will be a promotion that Tesla runs every time they need a bump in sales.... or maybe not. Who knows?
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zanary
Active Member
Regardless of Tesla told us at time of purchase, when you login to your My Tesla account, you'll see the limits of Supercharging applies to your vehicle.
For my Sept 2017 Built Model S I see the following:
You have free, unlimited Supercharging for your current Tesla vehicle. If you choose to sell your current Tesla, free Supercharging will not transfer to the next owner. Also, up to five friends you refer will also receive six months of free Supercharging.
For my wife's Dec 2016 Built Model X I see the following:
You have free, unlimited Supercharging for your current Tesla vehicle as well as any new Model S or Model X purchased before January 31, 2018. If you choose to sell your current Tesla, free Supercharging will transfer to the next owner. In addition, up to five friends you refer will also receive free Supercharging.
Neither of us will get Free Supercharging on any new Tesla we purchase, and only the new owner of her Model X will have it transferred over to him/her, but for my Model S, the new owner is SOL.
I think they will continue to offer the 6 months of free supercharging, but lifetime is no longer an option and may never be offered again.
Honestly, when they took it away the first time, I thought there was no chance it'd ever be back, because of folks like Tesloop that built their corporate structure and profit margin on using thousands of dollars of Tesla electricity every year and congest the Cali superchargers in the process.
But they brought it back when they wanted more sales last year.
I think you'll see Tesla using if as a demand lever in the future when they find it convenient. I know it was a factor in my buying decision back in 2016. Not because of the dollar value of the charging - intellectually, I know it's not a lot of money involved, and the depreciation the car experiences every mile is likely larger.
But the allure of the "free" roadtrip is very attractive psychologically. It encourages adventure, and AP makes the adventure easier. If Tesla isn't going to offer free supercharging consistently (and there are good business reasons not to, as noted,) what I'd like is a "road tripper's package" that includes 5-6k miles worth of supercharging per year prepaid/free, possibly included in the long range battery upgrade or as a standalone. Again, not so much about the money as about the psychology.
But they brought it back when they wanted more sales last year.
I think you'll see Tesla using if as a demand lever in the future when they find it convenient. I know it was a factor in my buying decision back in 2016. Not because of the dollar value of the charging - intellectually, I know it's not a lot of money involved, and the depreciation the car experiences every mile is likely larger.
But the allure of the "free" roadtrip is very attractive psychologically. It encourages adventure, and AP makes the adventure easier. If Tesla isn't going to offer free supercharging consistently (and there are good business reasons not to, as noted,) what I'd like is a "road tripper's package" that includes 5-6k miles worth of supercharging per year prepaid/free, possibly included in the long range battery upgrade or as a standalone. Again, not so much about the money as about the psychology.
Tesla can implement a policy to limit urban charging for those without access to overnight charging and for commercial owners like Tesloop by implementing a distance restriction on get the free supercharging.
Tesla will start seeing more long range EV competitors - and is losing the US EV tax credit.
And since the other manufacturers don't have their own charging networks, would not be surprised to see some form of restricted free charging come back, at least for limited periods, as long as Tesla can contain the costs.
For early Model S vehicles, Tesla sold the supercharging feature as an option during purchase (believe it was $2500) - likely collecting up front what they expected the lifetime proportional cost would be for use of the supercharger network. If the average supercharger usage for long distance trips is about $100 per year - providing that feature as a sales incentive may be a reasonable trade-off, especially if it helps them overcome the EV tax credit loss.
Tesla will start seeing more long range EV competitors - and is losing the US EV tax credit.
And since the other manufacturers don't have their own charging networks, would not be surprised to see some form of restricted free charging come back, at least for limited periods, as long as Tesla can contain the costs.
For early Model S vehicles, Tesla sold the supercharging feature as an option during purchase (believe it was $2500) - likely collecting up front what they expected the lifetime proportional cost would be for use of the supercharger network. If the average supercharger usage for long distance trips is about $100 per year - providing that feature as a sales incentive may be a reasonable trade-off, especially if it helps them overcome the EV tax credit loss.
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