Tesla Motors (TSLA) Announces ‘Supercharger Idle Fee’ To Improve Charging Network Efficiency

In an announcement Friday, Tesla Motors said it is imposing an idling fee to car owners who leave their fully charged vehicles at charging spots on its Supercharger network. The company said the move “is purely about increasing customer happiness and we hope to never make any money from it.”

The “Supercharger idle fee” is applicable to the entire fleet of Tesla cars, and will accrue at the rate of $0.40 (including tax) for every minute a fully charged vehicle occupies a charging station. However, if the car vacates the charging spot within 5 minutes, the idling fee (maximum $2 for 5 minutes) will be completely waived off.

“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. To create a better experience for all owners, we’re introducing a fleet-wide idle fee that aims to increase Supercharger availability,” the announcement read.

Tesla also said that in the future, it hopes fully charged cars will remove themselves from charging points so that others can use them. But for now, it said car owners are notified shortly before their vehicles finish charging, and once again when the charging completes. Another 5 minutes after that should be enough time to remove the vehicle from the charging point, freeing it up for other Tesla owners.

Customers who are charged idling fee will be notified through alerts, and will be billed whenever they next visit a service center. There is no upper limit to this fee and it will apply even if other Supercharger spots around are free.

The fee pricing for other countries can be seen here.