Photo: Jeff Cooper via Flickr
Tesla is currently in a continuous process of making its vehicles more accessible to the public. While we're still waiting for the Model 3 to arrive - Tesla's first real mass-market product - the company is also eyeing a price reduction for its other two offerings: the Models S and X.
Earlier this year, Tesla reintroduced the Model S 60 - a 60 kWh rear-wheel-drive EV with a maximum range of 210 miles. It is essentially a Model S 75 with a software-limited battery pack that can later be unlocked at any given time, but it allowed Tesla to stick a lower price tag and try to entice Model 3 reservation holders into buying one now.
According to unnamed internal sources quoted by Electrek, Tesla is about to launch phase two in its attempt to bring down the entry price of its vehicles. Earlier this week, the website wrote about a hidden option on the "MyTesla" page that allowed users to buy "Supercharger credits." Tesla denied any comments and had later removed the line, but it was too late to prevent speculations.
The initial reaction would be to assume it refers to the announced fact that the Model 3 will not have free unlimited access to the Supercharger network, but the code was present on both Model S and Model X pages. This would suggest that at some point in the future, Tesla will disembed the cost of Supercharging from the acquisition price, allowing owners to buy blocks of kWh. Sort of like the pre-pay system in mobile telephony.
Since the Supercharger network was devised to be used sporadically and not as a constant charging spot, depending on the value of the discount, it would probably make financial sense for anyone to choose the new option. Based on previous data, it shouldn't be less than $2,500, which will buy you a lot of kWhs.
This new feature would also make Teslas a lot more appealing in countries where there is no Supercharger network. Right now, these people have had to pay for a service they will probably never be able to use, which no matter how rich you are, has got to be a little frustrating.
Electrek says that the new Supercharger credit system will first require linking a credit card to the MyTesla account, and then simply using the smartphone app to buy chunks of kWh that can be spent at any Supercharger.
According to unnamed internal sources quoted by Electrek, Tesla is about to launch phase two in its attempt to bring down the entry price of its vehicles. Earlier this week, the website wrote about a hidden option on the "MyTesla" page that allowed users to buy "Supercharger credits." Tesla denied any comments and had later removed the line, but it was too late to prevent speculations.
The initial reaction would be to assume it refers to the announced fact that the Model 3 will not have free unlimited access to the Supercharger network, but the code was present on both Model S and Model X pages. This would suggest that at some point in the future, Tesla will disembed the cost of Supercharging from the acquisition price, allowing owners to buy blocks of kWh. Sort of like the pre-pay system in mobile telephony.
Since the Supercharger network was devised to be used sporadically and not as a constant charging spot, depending on the value of the discount, it would probably make financial sense for anyone to choose the new option. Based on previous data, it shouldn't be less than $2,500, which will buy you a lot of kWhs.
This new feature would also make Teslas a lot more appealing in countries where there is no Supercharger network. Right now, these people have had to pay for a service they will probably never be able to use, which no matter how rich you are, has got to be a little frustrating.
Electrek says that the new Supercharger credit system will first require linking a credit card to the MyTesla account, and then simply using the smartphone app to buy chunks of kWh that can be spent at any Supercharger.
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