Tesla, which has more than 50,000 electric vehicle charging stations around the world, is introducing a new congestion charging system that it hopes will free up space at its stations.
Unlike idling fees, which charge drivers on a per-minute basis if a car remains at a station after it has been fully charged, congestion fees are designed to discourage people from fully charging their vehicles at the busiest stations. The congestion charge will only apply when charging points are busy and a vehicle’s battery is over 90 per cent charged. Drivers will be able to see where congestion charges apply on their vehicle’s touchscreen, and there will be a five-minute grace period to avoid small charges if someone is just a few minutes late with their vehicle. The new system will apply to certain stations across the US, with the cost set at $1 per minute. Tesla has not yet announced pricing or a rollout strategy outside the US.
Tesla has previously explained idling fees by saying that a driver would “never leave a vehicle parked by the pump at a gas station” and that the same logic should apply to Superchargers. EVs typically charge extremely fast, up to about 80-90 per cent, after which the charging rate slows significantly. The aim of the congestion charge is to reduce the length of charging sessions when stations are at their busiest, giving more users a chance to charge.
As more automakers adopt the North American Charging Standard (NACS) used by Tesla’s Superchargers, more EV drivers are gaining access to high-speed charging networks. And while the availability of charging stations is a crucial factor in increasing EV adoption among drivers in the US, Tesla has said that congestion is an issue the company is keeping an eye on. The new fee system could help to manage the influx of new EV drivers charging at Tesla Supercharging stations as more mainstream electric cars are adopted by the public, while the fees will contribute to the company’s bottom line. Analysts estimate that the Tesla Supercharger network will be worth between $10 billion and $20 billion a year by the end of the decade.
