EVwire brief: Tesla is once again using its Supercharger network to support communities affected by natural disasters, this time helping stabilize Hungary's power grid while also providing free charging to drivers impacted by emergencies in Spain, France, and Japan.
In Hungary, Tesla is cutting the price of Supercharging to help take pressure off the country's power grid, which has been strained due to extreme heat and peak demand. Starting August 2, charging at Hungarian Superchargers drops to 80 forint per kWh, roughly $0.25, during off-peak hours from 11 p.m. to 5 p.m. The goal is to pull demand away from Hungary's evening peak, when the grid is most strained, and reward drivers who plug in at quieter times.
Here's Tesla Charging's announcement:
The grid deal caps a busy week for Tesla's charging team, which also spent it opening free Supercharging in disaster-hit regions across three countries.
In southern Japan, Tesla switched on free charging after the magnitude 7.1 Kumamoto earthquake, covering Superchargers across the Kyushu region, including several in Fukuoka plus Kitakyushu, Oita, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima. The program runs from July 29 through August 4.
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It did the same for parts of France and Spain hit by wildfires, with free charging at sites near Bordeaux in southwest France and across eastern and central Spain. Both relief offers run free from midnight July 29 to midnight August 5.
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Context:
Tesla has a long history of using its charging network to support disaster response. During hurricanes, wildfires, winter storms, and other emergencies, the company has repeatedly enabled free Supercharging, expanded access to affected charging sites, and encouraged drivers to use the network as needed.
One of the earliest examples came during Hurricane Irma in 2017, when the company remotely enabled extra driving range for owners of software-limited Model S and Model X vehicles in Florida to help them evacuate ahead of the storm. Similar measures have been deployed during subsequent natural disasters, demonstrating how Tesla's over-the-air software capabilities can complement its physical charging infrastructure during emergency situations.
Source: Tesla Charging on X (Hungary, Japan, France & Spain)
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