Calculating my cost per mile in my Model 3.

[MSP2023]

I have a Stealth Model 3.
Started with 85% state of charge this morning.
Went to work and returned home..I drove 75 miles.

Steady driving, no jack rabbit starts, combined highway and local. 75-80 mph on highway for 40 miles.
Temperature outside70 degrees, ac set at 70.
No heated seats & streaming music.

I have 55% state of charge left.
I have a model 3, therefore 75kw battery capacity.
So, since I used 30% of my 75kw battery I consumed 30% of 75kw which equals 22.5 kw (.3 * 75).

My utility company charges me 12 cents per kw.
So, my cost to charge 22.5kw (.12 * 22.5) is $2.70.
So, cost per mile is 2.70/75 which equals .036 or 3.6 cents.

From what I've read, factor a 10% loss in transmitting the power to battery, so add 10% to the cost. Compute 110% of 3.6 cents....3.6*1.1=3.96cents.

Average ICE car gets 30mpg. So, if a gal cost $2.50, cost per gallon is 2.5/30=.083 or, 8.3cents per mile.

Not too shabby Tesla.

But, driving a distance of 75 miles using 30% of my battery, I guess my range is calculated to be 75/30*100=250 miles.

 

[swaltner]

While that may be your immediate cost to drive a mile, don’t forget the hidden costs of depreciation, insurance, maintenance (tires, etc....) and other expenses that you pay on a less regular basis.

25 years ago, I spent as much per mile on tires for my motorcycle as gasoline cost for the same motorcycle. Both of those were right at 3 cents per mile. Both of those were only a small fraction of the total out of pocket expenses over the life of the motorcycle.

 

[PACEMD]

Speeds above 60 mph or so really decrease efficiency, increase Wh/m. My 150-mile commute in my Stealth 3 at 85 mph in below freezing temps can use 80+% of my charge, depending on temp/speed/hills/wind/blah blah blah. At 60 mph when it's warm I use 50%. But who's counting, that what plugs are for.........

 

[iamnid]

Gas at $2.50. We idiots in California haven't seen anything close to that for years. Firmly in the $3.50 range. Granted, I'm also paying $.19 per Kwh.

 

[Style86]

Why don’t you just take your average wh/mi divide by 1000 and multiply by your kWh cost?

 

[SageBrush]

Why don’t you just take your average wh/mi divide by 1000 and multiply by your kWh cost?

Yep, if the kWh cost is in pennies

My bill reports the kWh in dollars so the calc is
Wh/mile * kWh_cost * 0.1

Example:
My kWh cost is $0.096
Yesterday's trip was 205 Wh/mile
So fuel cost per mile (not including charging losses) was 205 * 0.1 * 0.096 = 1.97 cents a mile

The Model 3 has three Wh/mile meters. IIRC two of them can be reset to zero whenever. I leave one meter alone to know my lifetime consumption and I use the other meter for trips

And by the way, our home in Colorado had Solar PV I installed. That electricity cost me 2.5 cents a kWh so the cost per mile to fuel my EVs was ~ 0.5 cents a mile.

 

[Knightshade]

I think this is where I mention it costs me about $2 to drive 300 miles because of my insanely low ToU rates and everyone gets annoyed with me

 

[OCR1]

I average 4 cents per miles in electricity. I drive 10,000 miles per year so total cost of electricity is only $400. But this is a very small portion of the total overall cost of ownership. Insurance, maintenance and depreciation are the real costs here.

 

[bigroccrek]

My cost per mile for my 50 mile commute............$0.00! 9.8 Kw Solar System (paid for itself already over that last 7 years in no electricity bills, so no cost there) Just plug in - charge - drive - plug in - charge - drive - REPEAT (for free) Gotta Love it!

 

[PACEMD]

Insurance, maintenance and depreciation are the real costs here.

And how is that different from any other motorized vehicle?

 

[Matsayz]

I think this is where I mention it costs me about $2 to drive 300 miles because of my insanely low ToU rates and everyone gets annoyed with me

Yeah it can be dirt cheap during those hours but what does it do on the flip-side? Here in Vegas we could do ToU and get down to something like 4cents for that 10pm-6am window but then.... something like 44 cents during the day when it’s 110* and the A/C kicks on for the house (we have two of them!). I said no thank to ToU, I’ll keep the regular 12 cents per kW

 

[Knightshade]

Yeah it can be dirt cheap during those hours but what does it do on the flip-side?

Still be cheaper than what we had before.

My power bill actually went down when we switched to the EV ToU plan.

Here in Vegas we could do ToU and get down to something like 4cents for that 10pm-6am window but then.... something like 44 cents during the day when it’s 110* and the A/C kicks on for the house (we have two of them!). I said no thank to ToU, I’ll keep the regular 12 cents per kW

My regular was also about 12 cents 24/7... the ToU plan it's like 2.79 cents from 10pm to 5am

Then it's 6.14 cents for another 12 hours of the day (plus weekends and holidays except for 10pm-5am when it's still 2.79)

Then 26.42 cents for 5 hours, most of which I'm at work anyway.

So like 19 out of every 24 hours it's FAR cheaper then the old plan.

 

[OCR1]

A Powerwall can be a big benefit here. Charge it up at night when electricity is really cheap and then use it to run your home during the peak hours to avoid paying the peak charges to run AC and other high cost appliances.

 

[bigroccrek]

Or install Solar. I did in 2013 and live in the desert of So CA. Keep the house 72* all Summer long without any electricity bill. If you do the cost benefit analysis I think you would be pleasantly surprised....especially in Vegas

 

[240W]

Phantom drain/sentry for some folks are higher than others, but still a lot less than gas, especially in California, people are happy that it’s under $4/gallon.

And how is that different from any other motorized vehicle?

Tires... depending on city/hwy mix, there are many folks who saw a lot less tire life than what they were used to from ICE.

 

[PACEMD]

Tires... depending on city/hwy mix, there are many folks who saw a lot less tire life than what they were used to from ICE.

Tires? Really? That's gonna be a hard one to spin..........

 

[Matsayz]

Still be cheaper than what we had before.

My power bill actually went down when we switched to the EV ToU plan.



My regular was also about 12 cents 24/7... the ToU plan it's like 2.79 cents from 10pm to 5am

Then it's 6.14 cents for another 12 hours of the day (plus weekends and holidays except for 10pm-5am when it's still 2.79)

Then 26.42 cents for 5 hours, most of which I'm at work anyway.

So like 19 out of every 24 hours it's FAR cheaper then the old plan.

As renters and moving into this place last October we don’t know how much the summer bills will be just yet. We’ve lived here before for a number of years so we know the heat but maybe I’ll have NV Energy run the numbers to see what to expect. It’s just that huge dollar amount during the day (no ones home but still don’t want a 80* house).

We will have two Tesla’s soon, my 3 and her Y shortly, so maybe switching to ToU would be a good idea. Stupid rental company said no to solar panels... and we’re not buying a house here.

 

[arghx7]

TeslaFi will calculate this automatically.

 

[sdrevik]

I have a Stealth Model 3.
Started with 85% state of charge this morning.
Went to work and returned home..I drove 75 miles.

Steady driving, no jack rabbit starts, combined highway and local. 75-80 mph on highway for 40 miles.
Temperature outside70 degrees, ac set at 70.
No heated seats & streaming music.

I have 55% state of charge left.
I have a model 3, therefore 75kw battery capacity.
So, since I used 30% of my 75kw battery I consumed 30% of 75kw which equals 22.5 kw (.3 * 75).

My utility company charges me 12 cents per kw.
So, my cost to charge 22.5kw (.12 * 22.5) is $2.70.
So, cost per mile is 2.70/75 which equals .036 or 3.6 cents.

From what I've read, factor a 10% loss in transmitting the power to battery, so add 10% to the cost. Compute 110% of 3.6 cents....3.6*1.1=3.96cents.

Average ICE car gets 30mpg. So, if a gal cost $2.50, cost per gallon is 2.5/30=.083 or, 8.3cents per mile.

Not too shabby Tesla.

But, driving a distance of 75 miles using 30% of my battery, I guess my range is calculated to be 75/30*100=250 miles.

Add tires. Tire costs are huge compared to electricity.

 

[PACEMD]

Add tires. Tire costs are huge compared to electricity.

I know, right? Pisses me off that Tesla is the first motorized vehicle design naive enough to use tires, I mean really? What the hell were they thinking?