Dumb question, does one have to pay to use these charging stations? If not, why not?
It depends.
Some early Teslas got lifetime free juice at their chargers.
I think that went away years ago for more recent purchases.
Some employers offer free juice as an incentive. My buddies daughter works for a large pharma company and she gets free juice at work.
It’s spring break time now and you’re starting to see the pics on Tweater of long lines at the charging stations on popular routes.
Our local utility company sent out a flyer advertising that they would add a charging port to a customer’s garage for $20 a month plus monthly electric usage. That would be $20... for life, and I assume linked to the meter if you happen to move. So I’m guessing the utility company gets their money back in 5 or less years, and then it’s lifetime gravy for them. Plus, they get their electric “needle” deeper into you especially as rates rise and they have to do massive capital investments to keep up with demand.
But, as we all know, electric cars don’t use any hydrocarbons. It’s free.