Tesla extends free Supercharging window by two weeks

Back in the day, when Tesla was still connecting the dots between its Supercharger stations on either coast, the system was said to be available to Tesla owners at no cost forever. Unlimited, free juice for every Model S and Model X was a pretty nice incentive -- but it was also one that seemed unsustainable.

Sure enough, in November of last year, Tesla indicated the days of free Supercharging were drawing to a close, and that any car purchased after January 1 of this year would be capped at 400 kWh of free charging. Now, the company is backing off slightly, allowing another two weeks for would-be owners to lock in a lifetime of fee-free charging.

Anyone who orders a Model S or Model X before January 15 will be grandfathered into unlimited, lifetime access to the Supercharger network, which currently clocks in at over 4,600 stations. Those who tarry and order later will receive that 400 kWh annual allocation, which Tesla indicates is good for roughly 1,000 miles.

There's still no word on exactly how much Supercharger usage will cost after that, but Tesla has indicated it will be "less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car" -- assuming you don't get hit with any heavy idle fees, that is.