CORTE MADERA, CALIFORNIA - A Tesla car charges at a Tesla Supercharger station on April 26, 2021 in Corte Madera, California.
(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Tesla has made charging electric vehicles free for people trying to flee Ukraine due to Russia's deadly invasion on February 24. The world's leading electric car maker announced in an email to local Tesla owners that it would waive the fee for Supercharging in several countries around war-torn Ukraine.
The email, which was obtained and published by the electric car website Electrek, states that electric vehicles, both Tesla and non-Tesla, can be charged at no cost in Hungary (Miskolc and Debrecen), Slovakia (Košice), and Poland (Trzebownisko).
Tesla issued a statement in the email, saying, "We hope that this helps give you the peace of mind to get to a safe location. Safe travels."
Tesla offers free Supercharging for the first time due to man-made disaster
Tesla is known for offering free Supercharging services to regions of the world that are hit by natural disasters. Tesla has been doing this kind gesture for years now to give people affected by natural disasters one less thing to think about when traveling away from danger.
The Texas-based automaker offered free Supercharging to Tesla owners on several occasions in the southern part of the United States when hurricanes struck that region in the past. However, what Tesla is doing in Ukraine and its neighboring countries is unprecedented as the company is doing it not because of a natural disaster but due to a man-made disaster, that being Russia's invasion.
Tesla's offer of free Supercharging also appears to be the first time rival automakers' electric vehicles have been included in the service. Although Elon Musk's company does not operate officially in Ukraine, many Ukrainian residents have imported Tesla's electric vehicles into the country themselves. According to a report back in January, around 30,000 electric vehicles are operating in Ukraine at the moment.
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Free Supercharger service a big boost to some Ukrainian refugees
Tesla boasts that its Supercharger can charge electric vehicles up to 200 miles in just 15 minutes. Tesla currently operates and owns around 30,000 Superchargers that customers can access on a 24/7 basis. Charging prices may fluctuate per location, but the average Supercharger typically will set back an owner $0.25 per KW. That means a full recharge for an electric car to about 250 miles of range would cost drivers around $22.
Tesla's decision to offer Supercharger services for free comes at a crucial time, with more people fleeing Ukraine as we speak. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, around 660,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled their country because of Russia's military invasion.
This is not the first time that Musk has aided the people of Ukraine during this conflict. He also heeded the call of Ukraine's vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who asked the billionaire CEO last week to provide his country with internet access through his Starlink company.
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