California Tesla owners have nine days left to claim their share of a class action settlement over so-called “idle fees” that Tesla charged customers who had been promised free lifetime Supercharging. The claims deadline is September 25, 2026, and payments range from $10 up to $350 per vehicle, plus a full refund of any idle fees already paid.
What Tesla Is Accused Of
The lawsuit centered on early Tesla buyers whose purchase agreements included complimentary lifetime access to the Supercharger network. Owners alleged Tesla later began charging “idle fees” — penalties for leaving a car plugged in after it finished charging — against those same free-Supercharging accounts, and in some cases disabled Supercharger access entirely for owners who didn’t pay.
Who Qualifies
The settlement covers a specific, narrow group: California residents who bought a Supercharger-enabled Tesla before December 16, 2016, kept the vehicle after that date, and were California residents as of June 21, 2021. The purchase agreement needed to describe the car as “Supercharger Enabled” or with similar free-charging language.
What Claimants Can Get
Payouts scale with how badly a driver was affected. Owners who had their Supercharger access cut off for 30 or more consecutive days can claim $350; those disabled for less than 30 days can claim $50. People who no longer own an eligible vehicle can still claim $10. On top of those flat payments, class members get a full refund of any idle fees they actually paid. Tesla has also agreed to restore Supercharger access to anyone still locked out and to stop charging idle fees against free-Supercharging accounts going forward.
How and When to File
Claims go through the settlement administrator’s site, TeslaIdleFeeClassAction.com, where eligible owners can file online using credentials from their settlement notice or download a paper form to mail in. Mailed forms need to be postmarked by the September 25 deadline. Owners of more than one eligible vehicle have to file a separate claim for each car. A judge is scheduled to consider final approval of the settlement at a hearing on December 2, 2026, but the claims window for California residents closes well before that date.
The case is one of several disputes Tesla has faced over Supercharger billing practices as the network has grown from an owner perk into a broader paid-charging business open to other EV brands. For the relatively small group of pre-2017 California buyers still holding onto their original free-Supercharging agreements, this settlement closes out that specific fight — but only for those who get a claim filed before the window shuts.