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A Strange Software Bug Sends a Chinese Tesla Owner a Shocking $610,000 Supercharging Bill

Chinese media has reported about a strange bug in the Tesla Supercharger billing system that left one Model 3 owner with an eye-watering bill of $610,000. This represents the cost of almost 2 GWh of energy, enough to fully charge the Model 3 Standard Range Plus about 32,000 times.
A strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging bill 7 photos
Photo: @TeslaCharging via Twitter
A strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging billA strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging billA strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging billA strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging billA strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging billA strange software bug sends a Chinese Tesla owner a shocking $610,000 supercharging bill
Tesla Supercharger network is the best one in the industry and people praise the ease of use, the ubiquity of the charging stations, and the seamless integration of the billing system with owners’ billing accounts. There is no setting involved, just plug the car and everything is taken care of automatically. Well, now it turns out that the system is not perfect, at least when it comes to the billing system.

According to CnEVPost, a Chinese Tesla Model 3 owner has received an alert from the Tesla app that his car is banned from the Supercharging network. The reason: unpaid fees to the tune of 3,846,306 CNY (approximately $609,000 at current exchange rates). The pictures shared on Chinese social network Weibo shows that the user was billed for charging precisely 1,923,720 kWh of energy, at 2 CNY per kWh.

He says he last used the Tesla Supercharger at the end of February when he charged his Model Y for only 20 minutes. That same day, the Tesla app showed he still had 2,285 km (1,420 miles) of free charging courtesy of a Tesla referral program. Nevertheless, days later, he was slammed with a bill high enough to build his own Tesla Supercharger station.

After the shock passed, the user started asking questions, as this was obviously a mistake. Tesla confirmed in a message sent to him that “there was an error in the back-end systems of some vehicles” and everything will be fixed. Such an error means there might be other users in shock with similarly high bills, although there is no proof right now.

The Chinese users of the Tesla Supercharger network in China were baffled after Tesla imposed an idle fee. Although this is still being tweaked, it is currently at 3.20 CNY per minute or 6,40 CNY per minute if the station is 100% occupied. This is in line with the U.S. idle fee of $0.5/$1.0. The fee is meant to improve the Supercharger utilization rate and to deter users from clogging the stations after the charging completes.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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