Free EV charging near Ukraine from Tesla

Kyiv: Electric vehicle company Tesla has started to offer free Supercharging in several countries around Ukraine for people fleeing the country following the Russian invasion.

In an email to local owners, Tesla has announced that it is making several Supercharger stations near the Ukrainian borders with those countries free to use for both Tesla and non-Tesla electric vehicles, reports auto-tech website Electrek.

"Beginning Monday, we are temporarily enabling free Supercharging for both Tesla and Non-Tesla vehicles at sites in areas impacted by the recent situation in Ukraine. Starting with Trzebownisko (Poland), Košice (Slovakia), Miskolc (Hungary), Debrecen (Hungary)," the email reads.

"We hope that this helps give you the peace of mind to get to a safe location. As always tap any site on your car's touchscreen to see current pricing. Safe travels," it added. When regions of the world are hit by natural disasters, Tesla has been known to offer free Supercharging in those regions to give one less thing for people to think about when moving away from danger. For example, Tesla offered free Supercharging to owners on several occasions during hurricanes in the south of the US.

Now for the first time, Tesla is doing it for not a natural disaster, but a human-made disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a "military operation" last week that is now amounting to a large-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have been fighting back its much bigger neighbour, but the Russian military has advanced into several parts of the country.