Tesla to allow charging for Destination Charger use

Tesla is making various improvements to its third-gen Wall Connector

@ChrisTesla/Twitter

Tesla operates two charging networks; the Supercharger and the Destination Charger. The Supercharger network consists of direct current, fast-charging stations for long-distance driving.

The Destination Charger network consists of slower-speed chargers, specifically the Tesla Wall Connector, installed at restaurants and hotels for Tesla owners to charge at their destination.

Destination Charging has typically been free up until now. Tesla announced that they are enabling paid charging at Destination Chargers. In order to set pricing at a Destination Charger location, restaurants and hotels will need at least six Tesla Wall Connectors.

In 2020, Tesla upgraded Destination Chargers with third-generation Wall Connectors, and the EV automaker told property managers that it would enable paid charging with this new generation charger.

Tesla’s Destination Charging locations have usually been complimentary. In most cases, the only requirement was that the Tesla owner was also a customer of the business.

The chargers would help bring more customers to the business, who would cover the cost of electricity from the Destination Chargers.

A great example of Destination Chargers that increase business is hotels. A Tesla owner may be more likely to choose a hotel with Destination Chargers if it means they could easily charge when needed while on vacation.

With the new 3rd generation Wi-Fi-connected Wall Connector, Tesla is enabling businesses to set their own price for charging. However, a business must have at least six Wall Connectors to activate the feature:

Tesla Commercial Services can be enabled on Gen3 Tesla Wall Connectors that are connected to either Wi-Fi or Cellular and have a signed Services Agreement with Tesla. A minimum of six units are required to be installed to be considered for this service.

This excludes many Destination Chargers since most locations only have two to four Tesla Wall Connectors. 

This upgrade will also encourage some property managers to add more chargers since they can charge customers for the service and cover their electricity costs.

Tesla Owners

Tesla Wall Connectors can add about 44 miles of range per hour of charging. In some circumstances, this is a better solution than a Supercharger, which has idling fees after your vehicle is done charging.

Property Managers

Now that property managers can charge for the service, they can cover the cost of deploying the chargers and the cost of electricity while also attracting Tesla owners to their businesses or apartment complex.

Apartment Complexes

If you live in an apartment complex and haven't bought an EV because of limited access to charging, this could be a turning point.

Up until now, many apartment complex managers have been hesitant to add EV chargers due to the added cost. However, now they'll be able to pass on any costs to their residents, adding value to their apartment complex without accruing any charges.

Destination Chargers can be used by Teslas and any other EV with an adapter.

It'll be interesting to see whether Tesla opens up this feature further by removing the six Destination Charger requirement. That would allow almost anyone to charge for the use of their Wall Connector.

All owners will soon be able to connect their third-generation Wall Connector to the Tesla app.

Tesla will soon retrofit some of their Superchargers with a CCS plug, allowing non-Tesla vehicles to charge without the use of an adapter. It's possible that the same feature may also arrive for the Wall Connector in the future.

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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