Tesla Spring Charging Passport Launches in China: What It Offers

Tesla Rolls Out Spring Charging Passport for Chinese Owners

Tesla has formally introduced its Spring Charging Passport program in China, packaging Supercharging access into prepaid kilowatt-hour bundles designed for the Lunar New Year season. The program is part of Tesla's broader 2026 Spring Festival push in one of its most competitive global markets — and it comes with real, usable perks for everyday owners.

Unlike one-off promotions that simply discount a single session, the Spring Charging Passport is structured as a tiered card system. Owners purchase a bundle of kWh upfront, activate the card within 30 days, and electricity is then automatically deducted from that balance every time the vehicle plugs into any Tesla Supercharger in Mainland China. No extra steps, no friction at the charger.

📊 Key Figures

All prices in Chinese Yuan (CNY). Range estimates based on Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive. Cards must be activated within 30 days of purchase. Source: Tesla China.

The Gift-of-Range Feature

One of the most notable elements of the Spring Charging Passport is that the cards can be used to gift driving range to other Tesla owners — a feature that maps naturally onto the Lunar New Year gifting culture. Rather than sending a generic gift card, a Tesla owner can hand someone a physical (or digital) card that translates directly into kilometres of travel. It is a clever piece of market-specific product design.

The Commemorative Edition takes this a step further by bundling a limited-edition physical collectible — a magnetic bottle opener themed around Tesla's V4 Supercharger launch in China. Only 10,000 units exist, which gives the top-tier card genuine scarcity value beyond the charging credits themselves.

Purchase and Activation

Cards are available through the Tesla app or Tesla's official website in China. Activation must happen within 30 days of purchase — after that, the balance clock starts. The Commemorative and Enjoyable tiers give owners 180 days to draw down their kWh, while the Trial version runs for just 30 days after activation. Once active, usage is fully automatic: park, plug in at any Mainland China Supercharger, and the balance decrements accordingly.

🔭 The BASENOR Take

📰 Deep Dive

The Spring Charging Passport is not Tesla's first attempt at prepaid charging bundles globally, but the China execution stands out for its cultural specificity. Launching around the Lunar New Year — traditionally China's largest gifting season — the program converts charging credits into a socially shareable item. The V4 Supercharger-themed bottle opener collectible is limited to 10,000 units globally, meaning most buyers of the Commemorative Edition will receive a genuinely rare physical object alongside their 500 kWh of charging. That dual-value structure is unusual in the EV charging space.

From an infrastructure standpoint, the automatic deduction mechanic is worth noting. There is no scanning, no manual top-up, no app interaction required at the charger — the system reads the card balance associated with the vehicle's account and draws it down silently. For owners who charge frequently on long-distance trips through Mainland China's expanding Supercharger network, this removes a meaningful layer of friction and makes budgeting for charging more predictable.

The six-month validity window on the top two tiers is also generous. A Model 3 RWD owner purchasing the Commemorative Edition gets 500 kWh — enough for roughly 2,500 km of Supercharger-sourced travel — spread across 180 days. For an owner who uses Superchargers primarily for road trips rather than daily top-ups, that window is comfortably achievable. The Trial tier, at ¥79 for 50 kWh and only 30 days of validity, is clearly designed for first-time experiencers rather than heavy Supercharger users.

Whether a similar passport-style program appears in other markets remains to be seen. Tesla has run regional charging promotions in Europe and North America before, but nothing with this level of physical product integration. If the China rollout performs well in terms of app purchases and social sharing, expect variations in other high-priority growth markets before the end of 2026. For now, it is a China-exclusive benefit — and one that Chinese owners should evaluate based on their actual Supercharger usage patterns before the purchase window closes.