The cost of travel by Tesla

It may be the end of free electricity for Tesla drivers who order their Model S and Model X after this Sunday (January 15), but the US electric vehicle maker says new customers will still be able to travel cheap.

The recently announced change in Tesla’s Supercharger program ended the free charging of all Tesla models. While existing owners remain unaffected, new buyers will receive 400kWh of free charging credits (approximately enough to travel 1600km) annually across the Supercharger Network.

If customers travel beyond their annual credit, they will be charged a “small fee” to utilise the Supercharger Network.

Tesla says the amount should cover the long-distance driving needs of the majority of owners and that its newly installed Supercharger Network will make long-distance travel a “seamless experience for drivers”, offering the type of freedom and independence shared by the owners of conventionally-powered vehicles.

Furthermore, Tesla says its customers will be able to enjoy travel between Melbourne and Sydney for an estimated $38.00 – a figure that trumps that of even the most fuel efficient diesel, hybrid or petrol cars currently available.

In North America, pricing is fixed within each state or province. Usually, Tesla owners pay a per-kWh rate, though others pay by the minute. Tesla says it is actively working with Australian regulators to determine which procedure will be applied locally.

“What’s important is, that in every region, Supercharging will remain simple, seamless and always significantly cheaper than gasoline [petrol],” said Tesla’s press release.

“We are only aiming to recover a portion of our costs and set-up a fair system for everyone; this will never be a profit centre for Tesla.

"To put the affordability of Supercharging into perspective, customers will pay about $10 for a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, about $100 from Los Angeles to New York, about €55 from Paris to Rome, and about ¥391 from Beijing to Shanghai."

Tesla, whose Australian Supercharger Network currently extends between Melbourne and Brisbane via Sydney, says it fast-chargers provide up to 270km of driving range in as little as 30 minutes.