Tesla Settlement Unplugs Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Idle’ Fees for ‘Free’ Lifetime Supercharging

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Tesla, Inc. has agreed to a class action settlement to resolve a lawsuit that alleged the electric vehicle manufacturer unlawfully charged “idle” fees to certain customers who bought vehicles with supposedly free lifetime supercharging. 

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The Tesla idle fees class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on June 25, 2026. The deal covers anyone who bought a Tesla vehicle in California before December 16, 2016, continued to own the vehicle after that date, was a California citizen as of June 21, 2021, and whose Tesla was described in the automaker’s Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement as “Supercharger Enabled,” “Supercharger Hardware” and/or “Supercharger Hardware & Access.”

The court-approved website for the class action settlement can be found at TeslaIdleFeeClassAction.com. 

Tesla settlement class members who submit a valid, timely claim form can receive a refund of all Supercharger “idle” fees they paid prior to the date of the settlement. Idle fees are charges incurred by a class member when their Tesla remained plugged into a Supercharger for more than five minutes after charging was complete. 

Class members can also submit a claim form to receive a $50 cash payment if their vehicle’s access to Superchargers was disabled for less than 30 days due to unpaid idle or other fees, or a $350 cash payment if their vehicle’s Supercharger access was disabled for 30 or more consecutive days due to unpaid idle or other fees.

As part of the settlement, Tesla has also agreed that, for all class members who currently own an eligible Tesla model received in California before December 16, 2016, it will not disable Supercharger access, will restore access if it was previously disabled, and will waive any unpaid idle fees up to the date of the settlement. If a class member no longer owns an eligible Tesla vehicle, they can elect on their claim form to receive a $10 cash payment.

To submit a Tesla idle fees settlement claim form online, class members can head to this page and enter the login ID and PIN found on their copy of the settlement notice. Alternatively, class members can download a PDF claim form to print, complete and return to the settlement administrator. 

Tesla settlement claim forms must be submitted online or by mail by September 25, 2026. 

Class members who had/have multiple Tesla vehicles, per the automaker’s records, must submit a claim form for each vehicle to receive settlement benefits. 

The class action settlement website states that the Tesla deal does not prevent the automaker from assessing or collecting idle fees from any class member after the date the settlement agreement is executed. 

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the Tesla idle fees Supercharging settlement following a hearing on December 2, 2026. Settlement benefits will begin to be distributed after the deal has received final approval and any appeals are resolved. 

The lawsuit against Tesla alleged that the electric vehicle maker, owned by Elon Musk, improperly charged idle fees to individuals who bought Tesla vehicles that came with free lifetime Supercharging. The complaint also alleged that Tesla wrongfully disabled, or said that it would disable, a customer’s access to Superchargers—fast DC public charging stations designed to rapidly recharge an electric vehicle—should they refuse to pay the idle fees at issue. 

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