Guides › Charging

Scheduled charging, explained

4 min read · Updated Oct 22, 2026 · By VoltCoach

Scheduled charging lets the car charge at the times you choose, such as overnight when electricity may cost less, and warm the car before you leave.

Set it up

1. On the touchscreen go to Controls, then Schedule. You can also reach it from the Charging window or the Tesla app.
2. Choose a location: your current location, or Home or Work if you saved them.
3. Set when the car should precondition and how often to repeat.
4. Set when charging should start and stop.
5. Tap Create.

Tips from Tesla

• If you set only an end time, the car works out when to start so it finishes on time. If you only set a start time, it charges until it reaches your charge limit.
• Setting the end time to your departure time means the battery is warm when you leave and uses less energy to warm up.
• Preconditioning warms the cabin and battery before you leave, and it can improve range.

Good to know

• You need to be parked to create a schedule for your current location.
• A schedule for your current location only applies when you are back at about the same spot.
• Without Repeat Weekly, the schedule runs once and then turns off.
• Scheduled charging is ignored at fast chargers such as Superchargers.
• If you plug in within 6 hours after a scheduled charge's end time, the car may not start charging unless another schedule applies.

Keep reading