One of the reasons some people look to purchase the Tesla models is the fact that the company has offered free supercharging for the life of the vehicle as a part of the purchase price. For the Model S and Model X you can simply call this an included benefit, but when it comes to the new Model 3 this won’t be offered at all. There has been a widespread issue with these supercharging stations around the country and this has led to the change in thought process by Elon Musk and the entire Tesla team.
First of all, there have been reports of many customers who took advantage of the supercharging stations too often. These stations were set up originally to provide a great way to fuel up to a charge of eighty percent of the battery in only thirty minutes to allow a driver to be back on the road. The purpose of this was to allow those who chose to drive their Tesla vehicles on long road trips to be able to do so, but many customers made these supercharging stations their daily gas stop which was never the intended use of the supercharging stations at all.
In order to lower the production cost of the Model 3 this car will not be offered with the free Supercharging package unless its purchases and an optional product by the owner. Tesla claims the charging using these supercharging stations will still be cheaper than using gasoline, but it won’t be as cheap as the free cost that current Tesla owners get to enjoy on the road. There is a solution in the works from Tesla which may come out at the same time as the Model 3 to be a way for owners to enjoy the charging needed and still take the longer road trips.
The chargers that are next to the market will be considered destination chargers which can be placed at or around hotels and attractions across the country. These chargers are the ones that will be used when it’s time for an overnight stop and could be operated by the hotel or attraction that partners with Tesla. Because these charger will take about four hours to reach the eighty percent charge on the battery there may be a need for hotels to monitor the charging and change chargers and vehicles out while customers are sleeping, which is a service they can offer to their customers driving these Tesla models.
Even though this is a cost saving method Elon Musk has already hinted the Model 3 may come in at a higher cost than originally stated, which may make the over 400,000 people who put down their deposit for this car quite angry. Many of them may already feel cheated because they won’t receive free supercharging and even if destination chargers are placed in hotels can you imagine the uproar if there is more Tesla models than there are chargers to be used? Tesla might be better off getting out of the free charging game altogether as it’s about to be really expensive.
Even though we might not get to enjoy free supercharging the Model 3 is certain to gain our attention and give us a great vehicle to own and enjoy on the road in our area. This is a car that is expected to have good range and be able to charge overnight to be a car you can drive on a daily basis. Hopefully there won’t be any of the same delays we experienced with the Model X before it finally made its way to the market. The Model 3 is the most aggressive venture for Tesla yet and so far it’s been a rollercoaster of information and roadblocks for the company and it’s only been on the market for preorders for two months.
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