After a tough quarter, Tesla is now offering 6 months of free supercharging for all new Model 3 and Model Y orders that get delivered by the end of the year in North America.
Tesla is gearing up for another “end of quarter push,” attempting to boost sales before the quarter and year close out.
It has already discounted new vehicle inventory by up to $3,000, but now it’s offering another incentive for new buyers: free supercharging.
According to Tesla’s website, you can now get 6 months of free supercharging if you buy and take delivery of a Model 3 or Model Y by December 31, 2023.
There are some restrictions here, though the most interesting one is that Tesla says it can remove your benefit “in the event of excessive charging.” We’ve seen Tesla be a little capricious before about benefits like these, so any wiggle room it gives itself should be taken with some skepticism.
This is a relatively common incentive for Tesla to offer, and has been a standard “demand lever” in Tesla’s quiver for previous end of quarter pushes. It’s also currently offering a transfer of free unlimited supercharging from vehicles who still have that legacy benefit as long as they purchase a new vehicle by the end of this year.
Last quarter, Tesla had a tough one, missing on both revenue and earnings. So it’s looking for incentives to boost sales and finish out the year strong.
At the beginning of this quarter, Tesla slashed lease pricing for the 3 and Y, and also announced that it expects to lose half of the US federal EV tax credit on the 3 by the end of the year.
These are all good reasons to take delivery soon – but then there’s the competing incentive that the much-improved Model 3 Highland should be coming to North America at the beginning of next year, so some buyers might want to wait for the latest and greatest. Though that doesn’t apply to the Model Y, which isn’t getting a refresh anytime soon.
Electrek’s Take
Free supercharging incentives work well, because new EV buyers can compare it to their current monthly cost of gas and imagine rather large savings – even though most EV charging is much cheaper than gas and happens at home. But for those who can’t charge at home, or who might not have their charging situation figured out right when they get their EV, a few months of free supercharging can be a great bonus to start off the ownership experience right.
And it’s an easy, low-cost way for Tesla to get people in the door, so that’s nice.
But as for other things that are easy, low-cost ways to incent people to buy your cars, perhaps Tesla should attempt the tried-and-true method of not having your CEO loudly spread Nazi conspiracy theories. I know it sounds crazy, but maybe it’s worth a go.