Tesla introduced the Supercharger idle fee a year and a half ago so EV owners don’t hog up space after their desired charge level has been reached. As of today, September 19, the company has updated the Supercharger idle fee to $0.50/minute when the station is 50% full and $1.00/minute when it’s 100% occupied.
Tesla has also capped due amount to $50, which means if your card details aren’t available and you exceed $50, Supercharging will be disabled for that user/car until the bill is cleared.
Also incoming is an over-the-air (OTA) software update that will allow in-car payments for Supercharger use. Credit card information here will be updated to the main Tesla Account for that user.
These moves are in line with Tesla seeking consistent profitability over the next two quarters and beyond. The current quarter, Q3, which ends September 30, 2018, is critical one because Tesla has promised investors that it will be cash flow positive from this quarter onwards.
