Tesla: the cost of recharging increases by 35%

The energy crisis that is hitting Europe spares no one. Through an e-mail sent to all customers of the Old Continent, Tesla announced an increase in the electric power of the Supercharger. The inevitable change in tariffs, driven by the contingent international situation, represents an increase of about 35% in the price lists and varies from country to country: in Italy, for example, the value has grown from 0.49 to 0.66 euros/kW/h.

It is not the first time that Tesla has increased charging costs at its columns. From 0.24 €/kWh it went up in 2019 to 0.33 €/kWh, while in 2022 it has so far reached almost 0.50 €/kWh.

Basically, Tesla Model Y with a 75 kWh battery is credited with a range of about 530 kilometers. To achieve what we would call "full" on a petrol or diesel car, we would therefore need 50 euros, taking into consideration the fact that the real kilometers are, in reality, about 400. Calculator in hand, it is certainly a price not cheap compared to Diesel, full hybrids or plug-in hybrids.

In all honesty, it must be said that Tesla was not the only one to have implemented this policy. In fact, Enel X Way had already adjusted its prices in recent months. To overcome this problem, some car manufacturers offer discounted rates with subscription formulas, a hypothesis that, at the moment, is not taken into consideration by the company of Elon Musk. Other houses, on the other hand, have signed agreements that offer a quantity of energy already included in the purchase price of the car.

The EU plan to cut consumption

To try to stem the energy crisis, the European Union has prepared the first "package" of measures. This is a mandatory reduction in electricity consumption, but not the gas price cap, which has once again been postponed. The most important change concerns the forced reduction of consumption: we are talking about three or four hours a day of reducing the flow of electricity at peak times. Another novelty is the introduction of the tax on extra-profits.

However, the plan for the forced reduction of electricity consumption has some critical issues. First of all, in order to reduce flows, new generation meters are needed, often not available in European homes. Then there are also political doubts: the Commission is aiming for immediate approval without the need for a new summit. But many member states are asking instead for a European Council to be convened.

Electric cars: registrations in Italy collapses

Certainly the energy crisis has also contributed to the decline (not to call it a collapse) of electric car registrations in many countries. Especially in Italy, compared to the rest of Europe, registrations of electric cars are significantly lower, according to the European Association of Manufacturers (Acea), in the second quarter of 2022 in Europe, full electric cars reached 10% of the market . Just take a quick look to the rest of the continent to see how much the issue of sustainability is very much felt in other countries. In Norway in August alone, 9,247 new electric cars were registered, equal to 74.8% of total sales, in Italy the share of EVs last month was down to 3.2%.

Another determining factor for which the sector does not take off in Italy is the lack of an adequate infrastructure network. Despite the many steps forward made in this sense, the widespread diffusion of electric columns still does not meet the needs of an increasingly Italian public attentive to autonomy and charging times of the new electric cars. Numbers in hand, for every 100,000 inhabitants there are 49 recharging points in the boot, still insufficient in anticipation of a demand that will inevitably grow significantly in the coming years, also considering the decision of the European Commission.