Tesla will start offering free supercharging for life to new owners of their Model S in a bid to increase sales of the company’s first flagship model.
On one of the company’s X accounts, Tesla shared: “Model S now comes with free Supercharging in the US”. This is another demand lever Tesla has successfully pulled in the past in recent years, but usually, there is a time limit to when the supercharging offer ends, not this time.
Model S now comes with free Supercharging in the US pic.twitter.com/mwiMIyVjzk
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) December 14, 2024
Tesla states that it’s for customers looking to purchase or lease a new Model S. These customers will be eligible for free supercharging as long as they own that vehicle.
For context, the Tesla Model S dual-motor AWD variant now starts at $US79,990, while the Plaid variant starts at $US94,990. Buyers of both these variants will be eligible for free supercharging.
According to the fine print, the free supercharging can not be transferred to another owner and business/rideshare customers are not eligible.
A senior manager at Tesla’s supercharging division also commented on the offer and how this iconic car was one of the first to show the world that road trips in EVs were possible, thanks to Tesla’s robust supercharger network.
Max de Zegher from Tesla Charging said: “Model S showed the world electric road trips are possible & awesome with Superchargers. It just got even better: hit the open road with free Supercharging.”
Model S showed the world electric roadtrips are possible & awesome with Superchargers. It just got even better: hit the open road with free Supercharging. https://t.co/qENCH4Ex6f
— Max de Zegher (@MdeZegher) December 14, 2024
For many early years in Australia, Tesla offered free supercharging on its Model S and Model X vehicles. That was until the end of 2016 when the brand decided to pull that incentive out.
At that time, Tesla had a handful of superchargers but has expanded its network to over 100 sites in recent years and over 60,000 stalls globally.
Now, of course, Tesla does not sell the current Model S in Australia as the company did not want to produce the niche model in right-hand-drive configuration.
Tesla’s Model S and Model X sales have stagnated in recent years since the company refreshed both models in 2021.
In the third quarter of 2024, Tesla produced 26,128 “Other Models” that are not Model 3/Y. These models include Model S, Model X and this year, the Cybertruck.
Compare that to last year when Model S and Model X accounted for 13,688 units produced, noting no Cybertruck was produced in Q3 2023.
Tesla is aiming to boost its sales on all its vehicles as it aims to reach the target of 1.8 million by 2024.
With incentives such as free supercharging for life on a new Model S, it’s bound to attract some buyers, but a specific Model S offer this late in December is unlikely to make a big dent in sales to finish the year. Production numbers for Q4 are likely to be announced in the first week of January.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.