Tesla is trying to cut Supercharger hogging down to a minimum by introducing a new fee.
The issue is owners who leave their cars at the Supercharger stations after they are fully charged, preventing other Model S owners from getting to them. To combat this, Tesla will now charge a $0.40 fee ($0.50 in Canada) for every minute a car stays connected to a Supercharger once it is fully charged, though if the car is moved within five minutes, Tesla will wave the fee.
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Each owner will be alerted when the charge is complete thanks to the Tesla app, which allows them to monitor the entire recharge process from a smartphone. Tesla says that the idle fees will be charged regardless of whether or not other charging spots are open, and that there is no limit to the fee.
Eventually, Tesla dreams of a future when its cars will move themselves once charging is complete, but until that day comes, the brand is trying to force customers to move out of the way by hitting them with a fee. “To be clear, this change is purely about increasing customer happiness and we hope to never make any money from it,” said Tesla in a release.
