Tesla Updates Supercharging Program: A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?

On Monday, Tesla Motors Inc TSLA announced that new customers will no longer have unlimited free access to the company’s 4,600 nationwide Supercharger stations. Starting on January 1, Tesla buyers will have to pay “a small fee” for any annual Supercharger charging in excess of 400 kWh. According to Tesla, 400 kWh is equivalent to roughly 1,000 miles of driving.

In the announcement, Tesla made clear that the company has no intention of gouging its customers on electricity costs.

“We will release the details of the program later this year, and while prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity, our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center,” Tesla said in a statement.

For current Tesla owners, the announcement will have no impact on their free unlimited access to Supercharger station charging.

For Tesla investors, every little bit of extra income is helpful given the company’s track record of aggressive cash burn. As of today, the company claims the Supercharger stations will never be operated for a profit, but Tesla could choose to once again change its policy at some point in the future. In that sense, today’s announcement could be the first step toward Tesla establishing its Supercharger network as a gas station-like source of log-term revenue for the electric car company.

Tesla shares are up 1.2 percent in Monday’s session following the announcement.