As Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) increase in popularity, it’s getting tougher for some owners to land a spot at Superchargers, which has caused the automaker to limit charging for some drivers, by default.
Owners in Australia were given a notification in their cars saying they were at a “High-usage Supercharger station,” with the message noting that the charging limit had been set to 80 percent, reports The Driven.
Many have also noted arriving at Superchargers, only to find them completely full.
While Tesla offers the largest charging station available to owners in Australia, some noted their individual circumstances on the Tesla owners’ Facebook page.
On the page, one user said, “I actually needed to charge more because tomorrow morning I’m hitting the road SYD-QLD.” They continued, “But that’s actually the first time for 3 years I saw Broadway supercharger fully packed, 3 extra destination chargers and a Chargefox were busy and another Tesla was waiting … the result or electrification I suppose.”
In actuality, this policy is not new. Tesla’s Supercharger page explains the following: “To reduce congestion at high-use Superchargers, your vehicle’s charge limit may be automatically adjusted to 80%.”
“You can manually increase the charge limit after plugging in by using the vehicle touchscreen or Tesla app,” explains the automaker.
The policy makes sense to allow owners to charge up to 80% and then move along. Charging during the final 20% of a battery’s charge is far slower to preserve battery health. But many travellers seeking a 90% to 100% charge for longer road trips can easily override the factory setting.
Tesla only opened its first V3 Superchargers in Australia last June, though the company’s Model 3 topped Australian EV sales in 2021.
Tesla also led EV registrations for the country’s most populous state, New South Wales, in Q3 last year.
