Tesla’s fix for Supercharger squatters is a $0.40 per minute fee
As the number of Teslas on the road continues to increase, owners are running into a growing problem. While there are Superchargers located nationwide for them to plug in and quickly charge up, they can quickly get clogged up if one jerk leaves their car parked there for a few hours. Since its cars aren’t quite ready to drive themselves away once they’ve filled up, Tesla is placing the responsibility on the owners. Once a car’s battery is full, the owner receives a push notification via the Tesla app. If they don’t move the car within five minutes, it will start racking up a $0.40 per minute idle fee (in the US and Canada), billed at their next visit to a service center.
Since electric vehicle charging still isn’t quite as fast as filling up with petrol, some owners may not think of it the same way as simply leaving a car parked at the gas pump. According to the FAQ, the fee applies even if there are open spots at the Supercharger, so users will want to keep this in mind all the time. Since this problem is likely due to inattentiveness more than any intentional urge to camp on the charger, some better messaging and a nag fee is a good way to get folks’ attention.
@loic You’re right, this is becoming an issue. Supercharger spots are meant for charging, not parking. Will take action.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2016
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