Tesla has brought back one of its most impressive promotions, though with new limits. Those who buy a new Tesla Model S now qualify for free use of the company’s public Supercharger network as long as they own the car.
Some Limitations This Time
Tesla removed a similar offer from the car in 2018. This time, the offer is more limited. A disclaimer on the Tesla website notes that it applies only to the vehicle’s original owner — if you sell your Model S, the new owner won’t keep lifetime free charging.
It also excludes cars bought by businesses or used as rideshare vehicles. Owners are responsible for idle fees and congestion fees, and Tesla “reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove the free Supercharging from your vehicle in the event of excessive charging or unpaid fees related to Supercharging.”
We don’t know how long the offer will last. Tesla says the promotion is “subject to change or end at any time.”
It’s not quite as good a deal as it used to be, but still a very impressive incentive. The last time Tesla offered free Supercharging, only Tesla owners could access the company’s nationwide Supercharger network. Since then, most of the auto industry has agreed to switch to Tesla-style plugs in their electric cars, and Tesla has begun opening its network for use by owners of other brands’ cars.
That takes time, as Tesla must program the network to work with each new brand individually. As that happens, demand for Superchargers will grow. Growth of the Supercharger network has slowed since CEO Elon Musk laid off the team responsible for growing it and then rehired some but not all of the employees.
All the same, we’re not aware of any other car that is essentially free to fuel forever as long as you’re willing to confine your charging to one network.
