Tesla opens free charging to any electric vehicle in disaster zones

Tesla has turned on free charging at a set of Supercharger stations in southwestern France, eastern Spain and southern Japan, and the offer covers any electric vehicle, not just Teslas. The free charging window runs from midnight on July 29 through midnight on August 5 at every station listed below.

Posting from its @TeslaCharging X account, Tesla said the goal is to let drivers charge up at no cost as they evacuate, relocate or reach emergency services, no matter what EV they own. The France and Spain locations came online partly after the Tesla Owners Club France asked the company to waive fees for drivers caught up in wildfire evacuations there.

France and Spain wildfire relief, free through midnight on August 5

• Arès, France
• Biganos, France
• Mérignac, France
• Bordeaux Lac, France
• Bègles, France
• Castellón, Spain
• Sagunto, Spain
• Fuenlabrada, Spain, Service Center
• Majadahonda, Spain

Japan earthquake relief, free through midnight on August 5

• Kitakyushu
• Fukuoka
• Fukuoka, Kashiihama, Higashi-ku
• Fukuoka, Hakataeki Minami
• Fukuoka, Nakasu Kawabata
• Fukuoka, Nishi
• Oita
• Kumamoto
• Miyazaki
• Kagoshima

Drivers can find any of these stations through their car’s touchscreen, the Tesla app or Google Maps. Since the offer applies to non-Tesla EVs too, any electric vehicle that fits the connector, or uses an adapter, can plug in and charge free during the window.

Tesla has done this before. The company opened its Supercharger network for free during hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Dorian in 2019 in the United States.

Why the offer went out

A wildfire broke out in the Gironde department late in July and grew into one of the largest evacuation events France has seen in peacetime, regional officials say. Roughly 220,000 people left the region on foot, by car and by whatever transport they could find, and the total number evacuated across France and Spain climbed past 320,000.

In Japan, a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu on July 28 and brought down part of a shopping mall in the town of Kashima, leaving dozens of people hurt or missing, according to local authorities.

Tesla has not said whether the free-charging window will stretch past August 5, or whether more stations could be added if conditions in either region grow worse.

Locations and dates are current as of July 29, 2026, and anyone planning to use these stations should check current status through the Tesla app first. Charger access can change quickly in active disaster zones, and evacuation orders or damaged infrastructure can put a station out of reach with little warning.