Subj : Tesla's Supercharger congestion fee lands just in time for the ho To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Nov 23 2023 13:15:05 Tesla's Supercharger congestion fee lands just in time for the holidays Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2023 13:07:13 +0000 Description: Tesla introduces a Supercharger congestion fee to reduce the number of EVs waiting to charge at its busiest locations. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Tesla has announced that it will enforce a new Supercharger fee at particularly busy EV charging stations, in an attempt to reduce congestion at some of its most in-demand locations. Just in time for the great Thanksgiving getaway. The move goes one step beyond Teslas current Idle Fees, which were designed to keep Supercharger stations running smoothly by financially penalizing Tesla owners who left their vehicles tethered to a charging station, even when fully charged. This fee was $0.50 (0.50) per minute, rising to $1 or 1 if the Tesla Supercharging station in question was fully-occupied. With the recent explosion in popularity of EVs , charging points are getting busier, so Tesla has replaced the Idle Fee with a new congestion charge that will see owners incurring a financial penalty for every minute they continue to recharge the vehicles battery pack beyond a 90 per cent State of Charge (SOC). Currently, this only applies to Tesla Supercharging stations in the US, and will be limited to those that are particularly busy, although the automaker didnt release details on how it determines if a station is busy or not. Teslas support pages simply say: "At certain Supercharging locations, congestion fees will replace idle fees. A congestion fee is a fee you pay when a Supercharger is busy, and your vehicles battery is above a certain level." (Image credit: Tesla) A necessary evil (Image credit: Tesla) Although this could be construed as a tax on those wanting to fully charge their batteries, the reality is, in most cases, it doesnt make much sense to charge beyond around 80 per cent anyway. The fastest charging sessions are typically between 20 and 80 per cent of a batterys capacity, purely because battery management software protects the longevity of the cells by slowing things down at the very beginning, in order to prepare the cells for charge, and at the end, where it drastically reduces the rate of charge to prevent damage from overheating. In fact, it can often take as long if not longer to fill the final 20 per cent of en EVs battery as it does to go from 20 to 80 per cent, which understandably causes congestion headaches at fast charging facilities such as Teslas Supercharger network. Tesla says the fee "encourages drivers to charge only as much as is needed for their trip, rather than all the way to 100 per cent. This increases the availability of Superchargers so that everyone has access when they need it". The move also comes following Teslas decision to open up its charging network to electric vehicles from other brands. Seeing as most manufacturers are now converting their cars to Tesla's North American Charging Standards connectors, things are only going to get busier. You might also like Tesla's cheapest ever EV is coming and it could be almost half the price of a Model 3 Tesla's Autopilot system swerves big obstacle on long road to self-driving cars Tesla reveals more about how its Magic Dock charging system actually works ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/hybrid-electric-vehicles/teslas-superch arger-congestion-fee-lands-just-in-time-for-the-holidays --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .