ABRP radically underestimates cost to charge

[Hahne]

I just completed my first road trip (800 miles). I was very pleased with how easy it was to get charged. I did not find the EV an inconvenience or to as much trip time as I expected.

However, the charging cost was much greater than expected. The actual supercharger cost was 3 times the estimate from ABRP. For example, at the first stop ABRP said the cost for 26.7kWh would be $3.17, but the actual charge was $9.08.

I used the default settings in ABRP for the model Y and only used Superchargers.

Is there any way to get more accurate cost estimates with ABRP?

 

[E-curb]

In a Sept. 8th post from an ABRP employee on their forum, they admit that there prices for charging are "rather rough estimates" and that they are trying to find reliable updated prices to use in ABRP.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

That's because Tesla make it hard to find prices for their Superchargers. I don't think they want users of the network to price shop.

 

[Puma2020]

I completed several long (900+ miles each) trips with my LR Y. The ABRP price estimate was half (or worse) of what the actual price was.
However, ABRP did map out good routes (and alternates) and give me a great sense of what SC's were available and how many stops I'd need.
Also ABRP doesn't factor in toll costs.

I just completed a repeat part of the earlier trip. The actual price had increased significantly. Investigated and discovered that SC's in several states had increased their prices by about 20% or more! Most going from $0.24/kWh or $0.28/kWh up to $0.34/kWh. Not sure why the price increase but it is making EV travel more expensive than ICE (if you don't factor in the pollution and the cost to the environment).
I still prefer the Y due to FSD/AP, as it makes a long trip on the highway so much easier.
Plus the additional stops are good for me and the family including the dogs.
Having to stop every 2-2.5 hours and getting to walk around for 10-15 minutes is actually a good thing.

 

[Old_Man_Speed]

I completed several long (900+ miles each) trips with my LR Y. The ABRP price estimate was half (or worse) of what the actual price was.
However, ABRP did map out good routes (and alternates) and give me a great sense of what SC's were available and how many stops I'd need.
Also ABRP doesn't factor in toll costs.

I just completed a repeat part of the earlier trip. The actual price had increased significantly. Investigated and discovered that SC's in several states had increased their prices by about 20% or more! Most going from $0.24/kWh or $0.28/kWh up to $0.34/kWh. Not sure why the price increase but it is making EV travel more expensive than ICE (if you don't factor in the pollution and the cost to the environment).
I still prefer the Y due to FSD/AP, as it makes a long trip on the highway so much easier.
Plus the additional stops are good for me and the family including the dogs.
Having to stop every 2-2.5 hours and getting to walk around for 10-15 minutes is actually a good thing.

Just a thought, but could time of day be a factor in the SC pricing? I know some areas of the country allow off-peak pricing vs high usage times of day pricing.

 

[Hahne]

When I was considering getting an EV, I used ABRP to calculate the relative cost. This radical underestimate in cost made me think I was going to save a lot more on trips than I am in reality. For this particular trip from Phoenix to Southern California the price of supercharging was pretty similar to costs of an ICE car.

My first impression is that driving a Tesla is radically cheaper for daily driving, since I can charge at home cheaply. But for trips it appears to be only a bit less expensive. That all could change quickly with oil prices on the rise. It might also be much cheaper in some regions.

Is there any reliable source to determine pricing of various charging options when traveling?

The Plug app does not always tell the price, particularly for Superchargers. I noticed at one stop that Supercharging was about 1/3 cheaper than DC fast charging at an Electrify America charger. I suspect that can vary as well. I hope when Tesla opens the Superchargers to non-Teslas they don't raise the rates. Perhaps there will he a Tesla price, just like other networks have a member discount.

 

[Calliope]

because Tesla make it hard to find prices for their Superchargers.

I've always found it easy, by touching the icon on the map on the screen.

 

[AlexHung]

I've always found it easy, by touching the icon on the map on the screen.

Not easy anywhere else thats not the car

 

[acatwith12]

I've always found it easy, by touching the icon on the map on the screen.

yea but if you're a dev for, say ABRP, there's no easy way to gather the cost of every single charger. It's kinda unfortunate... but it's a closed system atm

 

[Johnny Vector]

yea but if you're a dev for, say ABRP, there's no easy way to gather the cost of every single charger. It's kinda unfortunate... but it's a closed system atm

Clearly what ABRP needs is a Model 3, a robot finger, a camera with OCR, and a programmable GPS spoof transmitter.

 

[RickCRNA]

Why does one need to know the cost of charging ahead of time? It’s not like there are so many chargers to choose from to get the cheapest rate.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

Why does one need to know the cost of charging ahead of time? It’s not like there are so many chargers to choose from to get the cheapest rate.

@RickCRNA ...yet. With the CCS adapter coming soon to North America, that could potentially change.

 

[NWMY]

I just did a trip from central Washington state to Salt Lake City and back. The cost was a real wake-up call from the same trip two years ago in an M3. The average for the round trip worked out to $0.39/kwh making it equivalent to an ICE car getting 31 mpg. The real savings comes from the very low hydro power costs for local operation and I like the MYP.

 

[AlexHung]

Why does one need to know the cost of charging ahead of time? It’s not like there are so many chargers to choose from to get the cheapest rate.

Depends on where you are there may be choices. In CA, I have a number of SC to choose from when I travel from SF to home in Santa Cruz. Some can be half as expensive than others.

 

[Johnny Vector]

Depends on where you are there may be choices. In CA, I have a number of SC to choose from when I travel from SF to home in Santa Cruz. Some can be half as expensive than others.

And along the Northeast corridor, there are sections where you can choose between or among states, which often have very different rules leading to very different prices. A stretch of maybe 60 miles might have chargers in NJ, NY, and CT.

 

[RickCRNA]

Ok, I get your position that there can be many chargers in a relatively small area with different rates. However, are you REALLY going to decide on a specific SC based on electricity rate? I doubt that you are. Overwhelmingly, SC stops are based on vehicle need, convenience, nearby amenities, etc.

 

[AlexHung]

Ok, I get your position that there can be many chargers in a relatively small area with different rates. However, are you REALLY going to decide on a specific SC based on electricity rate? I doubt that you are. Overwhelmingly, SC stops are based on vehicle need, convenience, nearby amenities, etc.

Sure why not? A few weeks ago I need to top up on Friday after work because I didn’t get a chance to charge at work (people were hoarding chargers!). So I took a quick look and pick the cheapest SC out of the 4 that are on my route home. Half the price and similar distance off the highway.

I’ve also picked SC based on cost during weekend travels. It’s the benefit of living in the Bay Area with so many to choose from.

 

[E-curb]

However, are you REALLY going to decide on a specific SC based on electricity rate? I doubt that you are.

It’s not just superchargers. As others have noted, we are starting to have non-Tesla charging options, CHAdeMO today and CCS in the near future. Just like people pick their gas station based on small price differences (reason for those giant dollars per gallon signs), with more charging options, yes, people will definitely be picking their charging stops by price difference.

If you can save $5 by choosing the right set of chargers on a road trip and all other factors are about equal, wouldn’t you want to know? I'm sure a lot of Tesla drivers wouldn't even bother to bend over to pick up a $5 bill, I'm just not one of them.

 

[Calliope]

and all other factors are about equal,

But they're rarely "about equal". The locations, the availability, and the speed are all a factor, and I'd choose a SC with at even 80-100 kWh where there are enough stations that I can charge at, over going to use a CHAdeMO at 40-50 kWh in a location with only 1 or 2 stations. Of course, I'm sure there are individual locations where the speed and availability would be "about equal", but I wouldn't count on that when planning a road trip.

 

[thecavalry]

Either way it’s cheaper than gas. I’m not going to get all bent out of shape that I could have saved $0.03 per kWh if I went to the supercharger across town instead of the one on the way.