Tesla Offers Free Supercharging for Life, But Read the Small Print
When it comes to Tesla vehicles these days, most of the attention goes to the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck, which makes perfect sense. However, we must now talk about the oldest and least popular car in the lineup—the Model S.
In Canada, the large electric sedan is currently being outsold approximately 14-15 to one by Tesla’s smaller models. Meanwhile, direct rivals including the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT and Lucid Air are stealing its thunder. Well, in yet another year-end push, the company has a solution: offering free Supercharging for life.
- Also: Tesla Rules 2024 “Made in America Auto Index”… With a Catch
- Also: Elon Musk's $56 Billion Tesla Pay Deal Again Rejected by U.S. Judge
It’s not the first time Tesla does something like that, of course. Since December 16, 2024, Canadian customers who purchase or lease a new Model S are eligible for free Supercharging for as long as they own the vehicle. Granted, if you can afford an electric car that costs over $110,000 (following recent price hikes), you don’t really need such an incentive, do you? Even less so if you buy a Model S Plaid at $132,000. On the other hand, it can pay part of the federal luxury tax.
As always, though, you have to read the small print.
Unsurprisingly, the offer is tied to a customer’s Tesla Account and cannot be transferred to another vehicle, person or order, even in the case of ownership transfer. That means it doesn’t add any value to the car. What’s more, used Model S units and those used for commercial purposes (like taxi, rideshare and delivery services) are excluded from this promotion.
More importantly, Tesla says it “reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove the free Supercharging from your vehicle in the event of excessive charging or unpaid fees related to Supercharging.”
What does “excessive charging” mean exactly? Tesla doesn’t say. And will this offer really boost sales of the Model S? Frankly, we doubt it. For typical drivers, most of the charging is done at home, not at Superchargers.
As for the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla is currently offering 0% APR in a bid to attract even more customers. However, it’s only available with the purchase of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) at $11,000.