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As maxerickson points out below, the Supercharger network is highly likely to be completely overwhelmed by the time Model 3 gets into the hands of most people.

As maxerickson points out below, the Supercharger network is highly likely to be completely overwhelmed by the time Model 3 gets into the hands of most people. The popular stations near me in LA are often very close to capacity already (even after expansions), and that's with just 70,000ish cars on the road. With another 70k Model S/X and 200k Model 3 roaming the streets, either Tesla is going to have to start charging to use the stations, or people are going to be waiting in line. And waiting in line means probably adding another 20 minutes to an already long fill-up. Either way, the "huge difference" needs to be tempered against reality because the experience today will not be the same as the experience 3-4 years from now.

bryanlarsen 11y ago
Making superchargers free was a really stupid move on Tesla's part, IMO. Humans often do really irrational things to save money, especially if they're receiving something for free. I've seen people wait in line for half an hour to save 50 cents on gasoline. Why not charge market rate, exactly the same as if you charged it at home? Then you wouldn't get people charging up at the supercharger purely for cost reasons, and who would complain about being able to fill up your car for $5? Edit: I thought Musk said that model 3 supercharger access would be free, but perhaps he just said that there would be access and didn't say it would be free? The introduction of the 3 would be a good time to start charging for supercharger access. Free access could be considered a perk of the high end models, and model 3 users are probably more price conscious and likely to abuse free access to chargers.
- greglindahl 11y ago
  Tesla charged S/X owners $2,000 for "free" supercharging for life. Based on my first 3 years of S ownership, Tesla's making a lot of margin from me on that part of the car. I'm OK with that, I love having low-friction fast charging on long trips.
  - bryanlarsen 11y ago
    Currently on the Canadian configurator for the S, free supercharging is a standard feature. I thought the only car that didn't include supercharging was the P40, which they cancelled and never delivered (delivering instead software limited P60's to those who preordered the P40). So when they charged $2000, what happened if you didn't pay the $2000? No access to supercharging, or paid access to supercharging? Charging a flat rate is even worse than giving it away, IMO. Many people have the mindset that if they had to pay for it, they're going to make sure they get full value for their dollars.

bryanlarsen 11y ago

Making superchargers free was a really stupid move on Tesla's part, IMO. Humans often do really irrational things to save money, especially if they're receiving something for free. I've seen people wait in line for half an hour to save 50 cents on gasoline. Why not charge market rate, exactly the same as if you charged it at home? Then you wouldn't get people charging up at the supercharger purely for cost reasons, and who would complain about being able to fill up your car for $5? Edit: I thought Musk said that model 3 supercharger access would be free, but perhaps he just said that there would be access and didn't say it would be free? The introduction of the 3 would be a good time to start charging for supercharger access. Free access could be considered a perk of the high end models, and model 3 users are probably more price conscious and likely to abuse free access to chargers.

greglindahl 11y ago
Tesla charged S/X owners $2,000 for "free" supercharging for life. Based on my first 3 years of S ownership, Tesla's making a lot of margin from me on that part of the car. I'm OK with that, I love having low-friction fast charging on long trips.
- bryanlarsen 11y ago
  Currently on the Canadian configurator for the S, free supercharging is a standard feature. I thought the only car that didn't include supercharging was the P40, which they cancelled and never delivered (delivering instead software limited P60's to those who preordered the P40). So when they charged $2000, what happened if you didn't pay the $2000? No access to supercharging, or paid access to supercharging? Charging a flat rate is even worse than giving it away, IMO. Many people have the mindset that if they had to pay for it, they're going to make sure they get full value for their dollars.