Tesla Charging Prices - Not excited as others

[paulcusick3]

No EV bashing here.... fully committed (to charge at home) and love my Lightning; never going back. However I am a frugal yankee.

Here in New England, the non-subscription rates for supercharges is between .45 and .55 per kwh. The avg cost per gallon of unleaded is $3.58

I put these number into this calculator.... https://chooseev.com/savings-calculator/

The cost per mile results in Lightning getting 5 less miles than the cost of gas. The breakeven kwh cost is $.37. I pay .22 at home and .35 at vacation home (both the MA, Muni vs big guy)

Just facts presented. Tesla charging for road trips and poor planning only. Yes, I know the other costs are not factored (oil etc) and does not consider the environment.... so check those comments at the door.

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[stevey_frac]

Yup. That's fine.

High speed charging should be saved for those who need it anyways...

Unless they want to help fund the expansion of the supercharger network, I guess.

 

[Heliian]

All prices in CAD.

Gas here is $1.60/liter and Tesla charges $0.82/kwh.

F150L @ 40kwh/100km is $32.80
F150 2.7 @ 13L/100km is $20.80

Charging at home at $0.14/kwh cost $5.60.

I won't be using Tesla until at least June when my adapter gets shipped but it's not a cost I'm worried about as it will be infrequent.

 

[Maquis]

A contributing factor - we have a very low motor fuel tax rate amount compared to other industrialized nations.

 

[Pioneer74]

I charge at home. That's where the real savings are. But I'm excited for my upcoming trip to Norfolk.

Using a Tesla membership for my drive, it will cost less than with an EA membership, and will be more reliable to boot. And with the 250Kw charging giving roughly the same output as the 350kW EA units, I won't have to worry about people complaining I'm using "their" charger.

 

[Budshark]

It was always a mistake to assume EVs would be cheaper per mile than gas. When supercharging was free and L2 was enough to get around town this was mostly true. But as soon as free superchargers went away and vehicle battery size made L2 impractical except for overnight home use, the market was going to drive them to cost equality.

Much like the early “bio-fuel” guys used to take used frying oil from fats food places and talk about their free “gas” - that was never a sustainable model and as soon as companies got involved bio-fuel became as much if not more than gas. Same with EVs. Charging providers need their cut, cities need their taxes. Sell enough and they move in to get their cut and all the savings are gone.

 

[Maxx]

We travelled for eclipse this weekend. Lots of miles in a short time. Traveling at 80 mph for lots of it. I just couldn’t beat 600 mile range, cost of energy, freedom of stopping anywhere you like and 5 min charging of my wife’s outback. Truck would do better in stop and go traffic and would still be preferred for distances of 300 miles or less where there is charging at destination.

 

[Mmiketa]

I charge at home. That's where the real savings are. But I'm excited for my upcoming trip to Norfolk.

Using a Tesla membership for my drive, it will cost less than with an EA membership, and will be more reliable to boot. And with the 250Kw charging giving roughly the same output as the 350kW EA units, I won't have to worry about people complaining I'm using "their" charger.

Coming out to my neck of the woods.


The Tesla chargers are more reliable and cheaper than existing infrastructure. Travelling will always be more than charging at home, but how are you filling up your gas vehicle at home?

 

[hturnerfamily]

When traveling, yes, DC Fast Charging will likely work out as slightly 'more' costs versus the 'per gallon' equivalent..... BUT, traveling and DC Fast Charging is a very TINY part of the daily 'cost of power' equation...

it's like saying that your LOCAL gas stations where you normally gas-up near your home is 50cents per gallon, but those 'far away' gas stations when traveling are more like $4 per gallon. You might not 'like' it, when making a long trip, but the offsetting 'Very Low Cost' of most of your miles near home makes it the MUCH OVERALL winner.

And, yes, the maintenance, or LACK of it, for EVs is also the WINNER. Matter of fact, if you equate in the amount of time for regular maintenance on gas or diesel vehicles, such as oil changes, etc., you'll likely realize that while we might have to 'sit' at DC Fast Chargers for a longer period than those who 'quickly' gas up, the overall END amount of time, all things included, might be actually MUCH closer in reality...

 

[Grumpy2]

Good analysis. There are many advantages with electric vehicles. Using any truck with 1 ton capacity to drive across the country will cost you regardless of fuel, using a light economical vehicle to drive across the country will save you money, but cost in comfort and safety.

Either way if the vehicle is electric we can smile because we are doing the right thing.

 

[Heliian]

A contributing factor - we have a very low motor fuel tax rate amount industrialized nations.

Current rate across Canada is about $0.42/L or $1.596/gallon in total taxes.

 

[TaxmanHog]

No EV bashing here.... fully committed (to charge at home) and love my Lightning; never going back. However I am a frugal yankee.

Welcome, similar experiences, I take solace in the value of the Mass Mor-EV-Truck credit that I got in 2022, that goes a long way compensating for the regional power expenses we have in Massachusetts.

 

[TomB985]

I pulled my camper down to Texas last week, and it was the same price as using my ancient Expedition. That’s fine; this was a better tow and I loved having the PPO to power my camper instead of the generator. That trip would have been 30% more expensive using EA and EVGo, so I’m really pleased to use Tesla’s network. They lowered prices recently as well, all of the Superchargers I used last October were more expensive on the same route.

The real cost savings are at home. $50 each month buys me over 2,000 miles of juice.

 

[F150ROD]

That’s why you always keep an ICE in the garage.

 

[willk66]

Most Americans are unaware how much cheaper gasoline is compared to fast charging. If this doesn't get rectified it will be the death of the EV. You can make a graph of a President's approval # with the cost of a gallon of gas and they will always coincide.

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