Tesla offering free Supercharging to entice Model 3 buyers

Tesla may not do traditional incentives, but that doesn't mean it can't come up with ways to entice customers beyond lowering prices. According to Tesla’s website, the company has been offering three months of free charging at its Supercharger Network for purchases of the Model 3 sedans in inventory. The cars must be delivered by June 30 in the United States and Canada in order to get the deal.

Although Tesla has in recent quarters been keen to deliver as many cars as possible to boost its quarterly delivery numbers, it appears there may be another reason for Tesla to shrink Model 3 inventory at this time.

A much-rumored update to the Model 3, codenamed project “Highland,” has been reportedly in the works for some time now, and the expectation is the car will be revealed soon. Reports suggest that CEO Elon Musk was going to unveil the updated Model 3 during his trip to China earlier this month.

The free Supercharging incentive comes after the federal government said all Model 3 trim levels were eligible for the full $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit. Previously the base Model 3 rear-wheel drive (RWD) received only half the credit, likely due to where the battery’s critical minerals originated from or where battery components were manufactured.

The Model 3 isn’t the only Tesla vehicle that is receiving a free Supercharging incentive. Tesla is offering three years of free supercharging for new purchases of the company’s higher-end Model S and Model X vehicles, with delivery having to take place before June 30.

Tesla’s move to offer Supercharging incentives comes after the company scored two major charging deals, potentially making its NACS (North American Charging Standard) connector the default standard in the United States. The latest deal came late last week when General Motors announced it was joining forces with Tesla to use its Supercharger Network starting next year with the use of an adapter. By 2025 GM anticipates its EVs will have Tesla’s NACS connector built-in, meaning GM’s cars will have direct access to Tesla Superchargers.

GM’s move came two weeks after Ford announced a similar partnership with Tesla to enable access for Ford vehicles to Tesla's charging network.

Somewhat coincidentally, over the last two weeks, Tesla’s stock has been on a tear, with a record 13-session win streak ending on Wednesday. Tesla shares added a whopping $240 billion in market value during that short time.

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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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