Nathan Bomey

USA TODAY

Tesla Motors said Monday that it would begin requiring certain Tesla owners to pay to charge their electric vehicles at the company's network of charging stations.

In a reversal, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based automaker said its superchargers would no longer be completely free. The charges apply to people who buy a Tesla vehicle after Jan. 1, 2017. They will be charged a fee to use the charging stations after about 1,000 miles of free usage annually.

The automaker did not reveal pricing, calling it "a small fee" that would be "charged incrementally and cost less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car."

"We will release the details of the program later this year, and while prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity, our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center," the company said in a statement.

The company has installed more than 4,600 charging stations throughout the world, giving Tesla owners free access to electricity. CEO Elon Musk long trumpeted the superchargers as an enticing reason to own a Tesla vehicle.

Anyone who already owns a Tesla or buys one by Jan. 1 and takes delivery by April 1 is grandfathered into the free model.

Owners can still charge their vehicles at home, where they must pay standard power rates.

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