Tesla Announces new Idle Fee for Supercharger Use

The days of carefree charging with Tesla Superchargers appear to be over. Superchargers are still free to use, but Tesla will now collect an “idle fee” if a vehicle remains plugged in once the charging cycle is complete.

According to Tesla, the idle fee is $0.40 for every minute following a charge. Tesla will waive the fee if the vehicle is unplugged and moved within 5 minutes. The company says the move is an effort to improve Supercharger availability to all owners.

“We designed the Supercharger network to enable a seamless, enjoyable road trip experience. Therefore, we understand that it can be frustrating to arrive at a station only to discover fully charged Tesla cars occupying all the spots,” Tesla said in a statement. “A customer would never leave a car parked by the pump at a gas station and the same thinking applies with Superchargers.”

The idle fee is a slight pivot from the early days of Supercharger use when Tesla encouraged owners to grab a meal or run errands while their Model S or Model X charged. Tesla says the fee still applies even if there are adjacent and unoccupied Supercharger spots.

Tesla says the idle fee should go away once its cars are fully autonomous, capable of leaving the Supercharger port and parking on its own. The move comes on the heels of another announcement stating that new Tesla owners (for cars ordered or purchased after January 1, 2017) will need to pay a fee to use the Supercharger network.