Photo: u/Fixtor on Reddit
After helping electric vehicle (EV) drivers of Ukraine and surrounding areas with free charging since March, Tesla officially plans to reinstate fees at its Superchargers.
Tesla plans to begin charging idling and charging fees once again at Superchargers in Poland and Slovakia, as detailed in a letter to customers shared this month (via Reddit).
The news comes after Tesla began offering free Supercharging to those in the countries amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March.
In the email, Tesla wrote, “We hope that this helped give you the peace of mind to get to a safe location. Starting June 1st, we will reinstate charging and idle fees at all Superchargers in Poland and Slovakia.”
One user in the thread noted that while the free Supercharging did aid in bringing volunteers near Ukraine’s borders, the chargers were also full of those just looking for a free charge.
In the comment, the user wrote, “It sure did motivate some Tesla owners to actually drive to the Ukrainian border to do some volunteering, but the superchargers were full of people who just wanted to get a free charge, which caused long queues, but that’s probably because Tesla is just not installing enough chargers over here.”
Tesla established a handful of new Superchargers this month, mostly throughout the U.S.
France and Poland also helped fund SpaceX’s Starlink dishes shared months ago to help keep Ukraine connected.
