Tesla Likely to Introduce 'Congestion Fee', Recent Feature Added

Additional Charges for Over 80% Charging During Peak Hours
Discovered in Software Code... Amount Not Disclosed

It has been reported that Tesla's exclusive electric vehicle charging facility, the 'Supercharger,' may introduce a so-called 'congestion fee.' The congestion fee is an additional charge imposed on customers who charge their electric vehicle batteries beyond 80%.

On the 24th (local time), the overseas automotive media outlet Electric reported that Tesla is considering imposing a congestion fee at Superchargers.

The congestion fee is a charge applied to customers who use the charger for a longer time during busy periods. Previously, in 2019, Tesla limited the charging status at Superchargers to 80% during specific peak hours when cars were crowded.

Tesla Supercharger [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Most electric vehicle owners do not charge their car batteries to 100%. By limiting the general charging status at Superchargers to 80%, Tesla effectively increased turnover during high-demand periods.

However, this charging mode was not mandatory for all consumers. Customers who wanted to charge beyond 80% could separately reset it to 100%.

According to a hacker famous for discovering new features by analyzing Tesla's code, Tesla recently temporarily added a congestion fee function in a software update code. This function imposes a separate fee when charging the battery beyond 80% at Superchargers during busy times.

However, the exact amount of the additional fee to be charged as a congestion fee has not yet been decided.

This is not the first time Tesla has imposed a new fee for using Superchargers. An 'idle fee' was also introduced, which charges an additional fee if the car remains parked next to the charger without moving after charging is complete. This appears to be a measure to prevent certain consumers from using Superchargers for excessively long periods.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.