Tesla has a 500 mile pack in the works, apparently. Would this eliminate range anxiety for most? I don't know about others but I don't mind stopping 1 hour to recharge after a 7~8 hour drive. I couldn't do it any other way.
The reality is most people owning Model S can probably afford to fly long distances. Some who stretched probably not. But those who dropped $120k on a car probably can. The supercharging network isn't just for S. I really hope they make supercharging free or very cheap on the next low cost model. That will be a big hit for EV practicality. Soon, other automakers will start licensing the Tesla supercharging network.
People said free charging for life wasn't sustainable. But look at
the energy usage. That's standing at just over 2 million kWh. At a bulk rate of $0.06/kWh (average is $0.11/kWh) that's $120k. If Tesla has sold ~20,000 vehicles that's about $6 per vehicle over 1 yr of usage. Let's assume people use their cars for 10 years, that's $60 total energy. Given the huge number of purchases it must have encouraged, that's a great return on investment. Most marketing managers would drool over that ROI.
It alone costs $50~150k to put a station in, but they will need hardly any maintenance over their lifespan which is likely to be 20~30 years.
So building the network now for the luxury models and trickling it down to the cheaper models: the luxury models pay for the network construction and everyone benefits from cheap or free supercharging.
IMO, if Tesla do have supercharging as an option, it -needs- to be a one-time payment, or free. I hope it's free. A $500~1,000 payment will almost certainly cover every kWh a vehicle will ever use. I hope they do not try a "$50/mo" scheme or such.