Tesla has started to offer free Supercharging in several countries around Ukraine for people fleeing the country following the Russian invasion.
When regions of the world are hit by natural disasters, Tesla has been known to offer free Supercharging in those regions to give one less thing for people to think about when traveling away from danger.
For example, Tesla offered free Supercharging to owners on several occasions during hurricanes in the south of the US.
Now for the first time, Tesla is doing it for not a natural disaster, but a human-made disaster –Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a “military operation” last week that is now amounting to a large-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces have been fighting back its much bigger neighbor, but the Russian military has advanced into several parts of the country.
Many have decided to flee to other neighboring countries, like Poland and Slovakia, for safety.
In an email to local owners, Tesla has announced that it is making several Supercharger stations near the Ukrainian borders with those countries free to use for both Tesla and non-Tesla electric vehicles:
Charge for free in parts of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
Beginning Monday, we are temporarily enabling free Supercharging for both Tesla and Non-Tesla vehicles at sites in areas impacted by the recent situation in Ukraine. Starting with:
- Trzebownisko (Poland)
- Košice (Slovakia)
- Miskolc (Hungary)
- Debrecen (Hungary)
We hope that this helps give you the peace of mind to get to a safe location. As always tap any site on your ca’s touchscreen to see current pricing. Safe travels.
This initiative from Tesla also marks Tesla’s first time activating free Supercharging for non-Tesla vehicles as well.
As we have previously reported, Tesla has started a pilot program in Europe to test opening Supercharger stations to non-Tesla electric vehicles.
Tesla doesn’t officially operate in Ukraine, but it has been rumored to enter the market soon and even added planned locations for Supercharger stations in the country earlier this year:
Despite not officially selling its cars in the country, there are many Tesla owners in Ukraine who decided to import Tesla vehicles themselves.
A few years ago, they even made a plea to Elon Musk to have Tesla enter the market and deploy a service network and charging stations:
The CEO has been promising an expansion into Eastern Europe for years, but it has been slow to materialize.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
