Tesla Superchargers Near Ukraine Border Are Offering Free Charging For All EVs Starting This Week

Tesla is lending a helping hand to Ukraine in the country’s ongoing military standoff against Russia. The carmaker has made its public fast chargers located near Ukraine’s western border temporarily free to use for all electric vehicle (EV) owners attempting to escape the violence. Starting this week, Superchargers in four towns in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary have begun offering free charging for both Tesla and non-Tesla EVs. 

Thank you @elonmusk! 🇺🇦💙💛 CC @SawyerMerritt @alex_avoigt pic.twitter.com/N4ZxOvgZhf

— Łukasz Åšrednicki (@mrsredni) February 27, 2022

Last week, the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov had reached out to Elon Musk on Twitter, saying “We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.” Starlink is a satellite-based high speed internet service, and starting this week it’s active in Ukraine. 

Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Supercharger public fast chargers have only recently become accessible to non-Tesla EVs in some western European countries. Select Superchargers in Norway, France, Germany, and Netherlands offer this service, and it’s accessible via the Tesla app. 

If you’re wondering why Tesla hasn’t offered the free charging service within Ukraine, it’s because there are no Superchargers currently operating in the country in the first place. Two charging stations were set to become operational in Oparypsy and Zhytomyr before the military crisis. 

According to news reports, there are more than 30,000 EVs in Ukraine. The Nissan Leaf is the most popular electric vehicle in the country, and the government has been pushing for electrification similar to India. Initially, most of the Leaf models were grey market imports – damaged or used cars from western European countries. 

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Now, the 2021 Nissan Leaf is on sale in Ukraine and available at Nissan dealerships across the country. Other than the Leaf, other popular EVs in Ukraine are the Tesla Model 3 and Chevrolet Bolt. 

Before the attacks from Russia, the EV market in Ukraine was expected to grow further with new budget electric cars from China. The country faces similar challenges to EV adoption as India, with lower average incomes and high prices of new EVs. We hope that the crisis is soon resolved, so Ukraine can rebuild and continue on its journey towards emissions reduction.