Would Tesla Benefit From An Unlimited Supercharging Subscription Service?
Here is an idea for Tesla and Elon Musk that was posed by a member of Reddit, MarksTech: create an unlimited Supercharging subscription service. We’ve seen this proposition before, but he makes a good case for it in the post and now seems like as good a time as any to share the idea. In the Reddit post, MarksTech writes: “I personally think this would be extremely good for Tesla, to get more revenue. Sure Tesla does referrals to get 1,000 miles free, but really that only works for people with a large following on social media. The average ‘Joe’ isn’t going to successfully refer that many people.” This is an excellent point.
Those who already get the free unlimited Supercharging for life for purchasing the Model X and S would, in my opinion, still get to keep that as a benefit of buying the higher-priced models. However, this would give those who wanted other vehicles, such as the Cybertruck, Model 3, and Model Y, a way to get access to unlimited Supercharging as well. And Tesla would probably benefit.
MarksTech addresses a pretty common argument in his post: “Well that won’t really be effective since people will abuse the Supercharger network,” and uses his family-owned carwash as an example. His family business has a $20 monthly service option for unlimited washes. He points out that $20 is usually good for two washes, but the idea of having access to unlimited washes for the price of two is appealing.
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Apply this idea to Supercharging for those without the 1,000 miles or the unlimited Supercharging that came with the purchase of a premium Tesla vehicle and it gives Tesla a chance to create another stream of revenue. For gasoline-powered vehicle owners, this would be the equivalent of a monthly gas subscription. Another idea is to throw in a trial freebie — such as two weeks of premium connectivity or even Autopilot with the purchase of unlimited Supercharging.
Hoopoe0596 thinks that it would make sense to pre-purchase 400 kW at 20 cents each. “Keeps their total out of pocket lower and provides savings for the consumer. But if their cost of over 28 cents and they are taking a loss regardless then they wouldn’t have much incentive at all.”
It sounds like a good idea and Tesla is known for implementing the creative ideas of its customers in a way that will benefit all of them. We’ll see if Tesla ever changes policy on this in such a way.
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