Since the Model 3 is Tesla’s most affordable yet, the company can not afford to provide the unit access to its Supercharger network.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks that Apple will eventually be a “direct” competitor when it comes to cars, but he also says the company started too late.
“Google’s done a great job at showing the potential of autonomous transport, but they’re not a vehicle company”, Musk said at Recode’s now ongoing Code Conference. “The obvious thing to do is to decouple that from the cost of the Model 3”.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, has indicated that owners of its upcoming auto – the Tesla Model 3, will not be given free lifetime access to the company’s supercharging stations.
Buyers who are in line to receive the new Tesla Model 3 will have to pay to use the company’s Supercharger charging network.
The service is now free for current Tesla owners.
Free access to the superchargers could be purchased as an option, or a package, Musk said at the meeting in Mountain View, Calif.
Elon agrees that Google represents great aptitude in the area of autonomous transport, yet he does not perceive it as a competitor because it’s not a auto company.
Later in the chat, Musk said the best thing to do with an electric auto is to charge it where you charge your phone (which is at home for most people).
“The Tesla price is based on a roughly 20-25% mark-up on our cost of production”, he said. “Would you take your phone to a gas station to charge it?” Rumors in the lead-up to the Model 3 launch event had suggested that Tesla would show multiple versions of the vehicle – perhaps a smaller crossover to accompany the Model X – so that could make an appearance as well.
Now we have some details on the timing of Part 2.
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Musk also mentioned that he doesn’t think Google will release a auto, despite all its testing time with self-driving electric vehicles.
