Tesla ends free supercharging credits for Model S, Model X customers

A Tesla Supercharger station.Alexis Georgeson/Tesla

• Tesla customers who purchase a Model S sedan or Model X SUV will no longer receive credits for free charging at the automaker’s Supercharger stations.
• A Tesla representative told Business Insider that the automaker sometimes changes its Supercharger offerings to better reflect the value of its products.
• The representative added that customers who buy the Model S, Model X, or Model 3 sedan can receive six months of free Supercharger use if they buy their vehicle with a referral code from another customer.

Tesla customers who purchase a Model S sedan or Model X SUV will no longer receive credits for free charging at the automaker’s Supercharger stations. Tesla’s website says that some Model S and Model X vehicles purchased before November 2 come with 400 kWh of charging credits each year (which Tesla estimates will provide around 1,000 miles of range), indicating that vehicles purchased on or after November 2 do not come with charging credits.

A Tesla representative told Business Insider that the automaker sometimes changes its Supercharger offerings to better reflect the value of its products. The representative added that customers who buy the Model S, Model X, or Model 3 sedan can receive six months of free Supercharger use if they buy their vehicle with a referral code from another customer.

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Tesla opened its first Supercharger stations in 2012 and allowed Tesla owners to use them for free until 2017, at which point it began offering customers 400 kWh of annual charging credits. Tesla offered free use of its Supercharging stations to customers who bought the performance version of the Model 3 before August, but did not offer free Supercharger use or Supercharger credits to other Model 3 customers.

The move to continue phasing out free Supercharger use comes as Tesla increases its focus on profitability. The automaker posted a surprise profit in the third quarter, beating analyst expectations with adjusted earnings of $2.90 per share (compared to an analyst forecast of -$0.15 per share) on $6.8 billion in revenue (compared to an analyst forecast of $6.315 billion). Tesla has said it expects to remain profitable in the future.

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