Hello - and a question

[NoTimeToLose]

Hi there - after lurking for a while and test driving a model 3 RWD today this seemed to be a good time for my first post.

Not having driven a Tesla before, or any other EV, I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to adjust. But both my wife and I found driving the car very instinctive. And we were both impressed with its refinement, comfort and responsiveness. I could see one of these in our garage.

Here's my question, which I forgot to ask the Tesla sales person. When you use their online configuration to calculate the price of a model 3, the driveaway price is reduced by two items (if you're in Victoria) - the government's EV rebate and an amount described as "petrol savings".

I can’t see anything on the site about how this amount is calculated and the assumptions behind it. I can’t help thinking you might just as well pick a random figure and quote that, as people will own their cars for varying periods and drive different distances in each case.

Does anyone know if these claimed savings are based on anything that can be checked, or are they just an ex recto exercise by Tesla's marketing department?

 

[Hairyman]

At the moment the charging stats page in the Tesla app shows the estimated fuel saving by comparing your ( or the average electricity cost for the state) in your state vs “fuel prices” in your state. No further description is given.

Using other apps with my own numbers put in show the estimated saving to be a bit conservative. Note that I can get very cheap electricity and I am comparing against premium unleaded because those are the engines I would be driving if I still had an ICE.

Even looking at that I would say that it is nice - about $150/month for me - but not a serious part of my reason for choosing an EV over ICE.

Literally, YMMV. So yes, they are much cheaper to run and service and the Tesla figure gives a general order of magnitude, but it cannot hope to be an accurate number for any individual.

 

[cafz]

Does anyone know if these claimed savings are based on anything that can be checked, or are they just an ex recto exercise by Tesla's marketing department?

I'm sure it's based on something, but it obviously depends strongly on the fuel consumption of the car it's replacing, the price of fuel, the price of electricity you face, and the distance you drive.

So if you really want to know the savings you'll see, you'll need to run the numbers yourself.

 

[paulp]

Hi there - after lurking for a while and test driving a model 3 RWD today this seemed to be a good time for my first post.

Not having driven a Tesla before, or any other EV, I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to adjust. But both my wife and I found driving the car very instinctive. And we were both impressed with its refinement, comfort and responsiveness. I could see one of these in our garage.

Here's my question, which I forgot to ask the Tesla sales person. When you use their online configuration to calculate the price of a model 3, the driveaway price is reduced by two items (if you're in Victoria) - the government's EV rebate and an amount described as "petrol savings".

I can’t see anything on the site about how this amount is calculated and the assumptions behind it. I can’t help thinking you might just as well pick a random figure and quote that, as people will own their cars for varying periods and drive different distances in each case.

Does anyone know if these claimed savings are based on anything that can be checked, or are they just an ex recto exercise by Tesla's marketing department?

Hello and welcome! The price you pay is not reduced by the fuel savings. The way tesla present that is a bit borderline, but their marketting team have always lived life on the edge. You will however save the cost of petrol each year, along with the cost of oil, servicing, and any health costs (medicare gap) breathing petrol by-products inflicts on you. The fine print does say its based on a 40 year old male driver, so that kind of demonstrates that its a wild guess.

 

[NoTimeToLose]

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[jamesgo]

For Victoria don't forget to add back the per kilometre EV road usage tax in your calcs https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/registration-fees/zlev-road-user-charge

 

[Nobody Famous]

Does anyone know if these claimed savings are based on anything that can be checked

You can punch in your own km and fuel cost.
-----------
Electric vehicles are less expensive to fuel than petrol powered vehicles
Kilometers
15,000 km / year

Petrol
$1.75 / litre

Estimated fuel savings over 5 years $5,600
Electric vehicles are less expensive to fuel than petrol powered vehicles. The average person drives approximately 15,000 kilometers and spends around $1,800 on petrol per year. In comparison, the cost of electricity to power Model 3 over the same distance is 3 times lower. Over the 5 year average length of car ownership, that's approximately $5,600 in petrol savings.
We've assumed a fuel economy of 7.0 litres per 100 kilometers for a comparable petrol powered car. We've also assumed the national average of $0.30 per kilowatt hour for electricity and $1.75 per litre for premium petrol over the next 5 years.

 

[raynewman]

I have found the main saving to be the lack of service costs with the Tesla.
Things like Oil, Brake pads and all the other dribbles ICE service mobs seem to add in.
With Brake pads, Tesla driver in SEQ just replaced his at (over) 420,000 km.
and even those lollies you buy at the service station add up...

 

[NoTimeToLose]

For Victoria don't forget to add back the per kilometre EV road usage tax in your calcs https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/registration-fees/zlev-road-user-charge

Thanks - funny how it's missing from Tesla's price calculator!

 

[jamesgo]

With Brake pads, Tesla driver in SEQ just replaced his at (over) 420,000 km.

Or a few days at a track