Tesla has added a few new tiers to its per-minute Supercharger pricing, and they make perfect sense considering the electric automaker's mission, as well as its thoughts on public fast-charging.

Tesla would rather have people charge at home or use Level 2 public charging if they're going to be charging for many hours, or hoping to get to a full charge. However, not everyone has that luxury. On the other hand, the company also believes the Supercharger network is perfect for commuters needing a quick "fill up," or road-trippers planning to stop periodically, add some juice, and get right back on the road.

Interestingly, the new four-tiered system seems to benefit all peoples' situations. Tesla shared the information on its Supercharger Support website as follows:


external_image

As you can see, Tesla makes it clear that it attempts to bill for charging in kWh. However, in some areas, it must charge per minute. This may make it a bit tricky for owners to understand the pricing. Based on the information in the chart, the per-minute rate grows based on how fast the Tesla is charging.

At any rate, Tesla's per-minute pricing used to have two tiers, one for charging at or below 60 kW and another for charging at 61 kW and above. The new per-minute rate system adds two additional tiers, meaning Tier 2 runs up to 100 kW, Tier 3 applies to 100 kW to 180 kW, and Tier 4 is for charging above 180 kW.

It's important to understand that even though the quickest charging costs the most per minute, drivers won't likely be charging at that speed for nearly as many minutes as they will when charging at a really low speed.

According to Teslarati, it appears the new Supercharger pricing is already in place in the US, though it may need to be rolled out in other parts of the world. This all comes on the heels of Tesla beginning to open up its Supercharger network to all non-Tesla EVs. The company is already running a pilot program in The Netherlands.

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com