Tesla to begin charging for electric car superchargers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- Future Tesla owners won't get a free ride. The Bay Area based electric car company formally revealed the pricing details for its superchargers.

"Well, they have to charge. This is free electricity right now, so eventually they have to charge," said Tesla owner Paul Grewal. "Just to do a cross country trip across the country would only be like a hundred bucks anyway, so that's much more affordable than even a super high mileage compact car."

Most owners we talked with have no problem with Tesla charging future owners to supercharge their cars, and they say you can't beat the price.

Tesla estimates it would cost $120 to go from Los Angeles to New York and $15 to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Another perk to having newcomers pay is keeping commuters from crowding the highly sought after charging spots intended for long distance drivers.

"Normally, I think people do abuse this," said Tesla driver Will Pryor. "I think people park their cars for long periods of time and I think this will prevent that in the future."

One owner had a different take. He thinks the cost will deter people from buying a Tesla. "I think it's not a good thing for Tesla, because many people choose Tesla because they get to charge their car free of charge," said Alex Malek.

Tesla will give future owners 400 kilowatt hours for free before the charging, charge kicks in.