If you are considering buying a Tesla and have some questions about the charging and supercharging for your car, you are not alone. I plan on giving you the information you need to know about Tesla Charging Stations.
- Do you have to pay for Tesla Charging Stations?
- Which cars have free Supercharging?
- Where are Tesla Superchargers located?
- How much does Tesla Supercharging cost?
- How to pay for Tesla Charging Stations.
- Where do you see Tesla Supercharger charges?
- Do you have to pay for Tesla Destination Chargers?
Do You Have to Pay For Tesla Charging Stations?
Yes, new Tesla owners will have to pay to use a Tesla Charging Station. While Supercharging does come with a fee, it is a lower price than filling up a gas-powered car. Any vehicle that remains connected to a Supercharger after being fully charged is fined up to $1 per minute. This fee is waived if the car is removed in 5 minutes and is set up to ensure efficiency at the chargers.
We do not want people leaving their cars at Supercharging locations because it prevents others from charging their cars.
You can use a Tesla Referral Code which will give you some free Supercharging credit. That link is for my personal referral code and the credits may change over time. So if you choose to purchase a Tesla and found the information you learn from my website here valuable, consider using my code, https://ts.la/chris29614.
Which Tesla cars have free Supercharging?
Tesla vehicles that were ordered before January 15, 2017, all came with free supercharging, which means they do not have to pay whenever they stop at a Tesla Supercharger.
There are promotions that happen from time to time which give new owners free supercharging with a Tesla Referral Code, as mentioned before. So be sure to use one when you purchase your Tesla so that you can get some free supercharging credits.
Where are Tesla Superchargers located?
Tesla Supercharger stations are located near many desirable amenities like restaurants, shops, and WiFi hot spots. Each station has multiple Superchargers so that you can get back on the road quickly.
Tesla Superchargers are located all over the world and more are being added every year. You can see a live map of all the supercharging locations on Tesla’s official site
How much does Tesla Supercharging cost?
Supercharging is a pretty straightforward thing, to keep it easy for all of us and to get us back on the road quickly.
Below are additional program details that apply to Tesla vehicles under the Supercharger program.
Where possible, owners are billed per kWh (kilowatt-hour), which is the fairest and simple method. In other areas, we bill for the service per minute. When billing per minute, there are two tiers to account for changes in charging speeds, called “tier 1” and “tier 2”.
- Tier 1 applies while cars are charging at or below 60 kW and tier 2 applies while cars are charging above 60 kW. Tier 1 is half the cost of tier 2.
- Tier 1 also applies anytime your vehicle is sharing Supercharger power with another car.
Pricing to use a Supercharger may vary by location, and prices may change from time to time. All prices include taxes and fees. Average pricing information is provided below and specific pricing for each Supercharger location is shown in the navigation application on the vehicle touchscreen. Certain Model S and X vehicles ordered before November 2, 2018, receive 400 kWh (~1,000 miles) of Supercharger credits annually. Standard Supercharger fees apply after credits are used.
On average in the United States of America, Tesla Supercharging costs $0.28 per kWh for the “per kWh locations”. For the “per minute locations” the cost for supercharging is $0.26 per minute above 60 kW and $0.13 per minute at or below 60 kW.
For Supercharging in Canada, it is $0.44 per minute above 60 kW and $0.22 per minute at or below 60 kW.
How do you pay for Tesla Supercharging?
Paying to supercharge your car is simple and effortless. You don’t need to worry about having your credit card out or cash on hand when you arrive at a Supercharger. The car communicates with the supercharger and can tell how much energy you are getting from the charger.
You will need to log into your My Tesla account in your car and have a payment set up on there. It’s very similar to how having a credit card saved on your Amazon account works. Once the Tesla Supercharger recognizes your car and knows that it has a credit card on file, it will start to charge your car.
The Supercharger and your car perform a sort of “hand shake” routine before they allow the car to start charging. You do not have to do anything else at these stations. No logging in, no swiping, no credit cards to pull out and worry about credit card hackers like at some gas stations. You simply plug the cord in and sit and wait for it to charge.
Where do you see Tesla Supercharger charges?
Once you have at least one Supercharger session, when you log into your “My Account” page on the official Tesla website you will see a “History” link on the upper right that will contain your Supercharger statistics and charges.
Do you have to pay for Tesla Destination Chargers?
Tesla Destination Chargers are a way for different attractions and businesses to attract Tesla owners. I’ve personally chosen to stay at a few different hotels because they had a destination charger, while other comparable hotels in the area didn’t have one.
Overnight I just left the car on the charger and in the morning I had a full charge. They aren’t nearly as fast as the superchargers, but they tend to charge around 19 miles per hour.
For each of the Tesla destination chargers I’ve been to, I’ve never been charged to use them. I’ve only used them at hotels and restaurants at this point though. Destination chargers are typically owned by a hotel, resort or a workplace. They are usually free but limited only for patrons of the establishment.
