American car maker Tesla is back in the headlines once again. While production gears up to build the firm's Model 3 vehicles, preordered all around the world, Tesla has announced that new buyers will soon have to pay to charge their batteries from the Supercharger network, after a certain free usage limit is reached.
Launched four years ago, the Supercharger electric charging system is still the fastest in the world. However, from January 1, 2017, all new Tesla vehicles ordered will come with a free charging credit of 400kWh, which is enough to cover around 1,600km (995 miles). Beyond that, "a small contribution" will be required each time owners use a Supercharger. The exact prices are expected to be announced by the end of 2016 and are still likely to prove more economical than buying a tank of gas.
These modifications don't affect current owners, only those who buy their Tesla from 2017. Evidently, all of the brand's future models will still be supplied with the equipment necessary to use the Supercharger system. The money raised will notably be used to finance the deployment of new Superchargers. There are currently more than 4,600 Superchargers available to some 160,000 Tesla owners worldwide.
Tesla is also making changes to its vehicle line-up. The Performance 90D will be removed from the Model S and Model X ranges and replaced by the P100D, with improved performances and range.
To ramp up production and fulfil all its Model 3 orders, Tesla has acquired the German firm Grohamnn Engineering, which specialises in automated manufacturing systems. The first Model 3 vehicles are expected to ship at the end of 2017 in the USA and not before 2018 in Europe. Tesla hopes to build at least 500,000 cars per year from 2018.
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