One of the benefits of buying a Tesla car is the large Supercharger network you have at your disposal. This allows you to charge up your Tesla to full capacity in under two hours. Sadly, the sweet perk is about to get more expensive.
Tesla is reportedly raising the prices of its Superchargers across the U.S. When Tesla originally introduced Superchargers, charging at these stations was a free feature for owners of the Model S and Model X. But in the advent of the Model 3’s release, it discontinued the program and started charging to use its Supercharger network about a year ago on a per kWh or per minute basis.
Potential Model S and Model X owners can still acquire Supercharger access for free if they are referred to by a Tesla owner, but Model 3 owners are not afforded the same luxury. This price increase hits them the hardest.
According to Electrek, supercharging prices went up about 20 to 40-percent around the country, with specific locations differing based on regulation. Oregon saw a price increase from 12 cents to 24 cents per kWh, California went up from 20 cents to 26 cents and New York went up from 19 cents to 24 cents.
For its part, Tesla is saying the Superchargers will never be a “profit center” for the company. The rise in price is focused on expanding the Supercharging network.
Regardless, it’s still quite a price hike to use the Superchargers. It is still technically cheaper than gas and what most Tesla drivers charge at home, where they already pay, but losing the free perk was bad enough. The rise in price just adds insult to injury.
