Buyers of new Tesla cars in Australia will no longer get a free charging cable along with their car, it has emerged. But, a 36% price drop for the cable has also been implemented for those wanting to charge at home.
The move by Tesla follows its decision to removal the connector – also known as a “Universal Mobile Connector”, or UMC – in other markets in April.
The move sparked uproar on Twitter, so much so that even Tesla boss Elon Musk weighed in saying “Usage statistics were super low, so seemed wasteful. ”
But in Australia, where many car owners have driveways or garages but public infrastructure is sparse, the EV maker said it would still include the cable.
That is, up until now.
The latest decision was brought to our attention by Twitter user @Davidhes, who said on Twitter that, “New orders from today will NOT have the UMC included. And all EXISTING orders WILL receive it.”
“Genuinely surprised Tesla has pulled this move so soon after the US removal,” he added.
@TheDriven_io @BridieEV I can confirm that Tesla has removed the included UMC in Aus. New orders from today will NOT have the UMC included. And all EXISTING orders WILL receive it. Genuinely surprised Tesla has pulled this move so soon after the US removal.
— davidhes (@dwhes) July 8, 2022
The change is confirmed by checking the Tesla website. In the features popup for Tesla cars under “Easy Charging” it now no longer says “using the included Mobile Connector.” The word included has been removed.
However, it appears Tesla has also dropped the price for the UMC. Where it previously cost $860, the cable now costs $550.
While the name of the charger has changed it still includes a 10 amp and 15 amp tail, and is the same length at 6 metres.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.