Initial Cost Per Mile over first 10k

I have found a myriad of reasons to enjoy my new MYLR, but my initial motivation was cost savings. I have zero regrets and love the car. That said, for anyone interested I'll share the costs associated with "fuel" for the first few months and 9,952 miles.

There are certainly other things to consider, maintenance, tires, etc. but I'm just going to focus in on electricity and the actually savings over my ICE cars that I've found.

Charging costs depend on how much you pay at home ($0.134 cents) and how often you use a Supercharger. My supercharger usage is going down, especially after I quickly discovered they are way more expensive, but after 10k I've supercharged about 38% of the time.



Total cost of charing, $641.18 or $0.064 per mile. Comparing it to the Camry Hybrid I would have purchased or my current Prius and Suburban the Tesla beats them all.

If I could have charged exclusively at home I would have paid only slightly under $0.04 per mile. That would have been great. But alas...

Probably not much to discuss here, but for anyone looking to take the plunge into an EV, I highly recommend it. Maybe these numbers will give you a picture of what you might expect if you drive a lot.

 

[LoudMusic]

Yeah, charging away from home totally kills the price per mile. I'm with you - mine is right around $0.04/mile. I usually compare to my mom's 2014 Honda CR-V which runs at about $0.14/mile.

 

[DayTrippin]

The biggest cost will likely be tires. I'd factor that in. Teslas eat tires. I spend more on tires than I do electrons.

 

[DCGOO]

Charging costs depend on how much you pay at home ($0.134 cents) and how often you use a Supercharger. My supercharger usage is going down, especially after I quickly discovered they are way more expensive, but after 10k I've supercharged about 38% of the

You might check with your electric utility to see if they have any special rates for EV charging. My regular rate is similar to yours, but my utility has a special rate for EV charging that is only 2.3¢ per kWh in the summer and 2.7¢ per kWh in the winter, off-peak. To get that rate requires a separate drop and meter. Free from the electco , but the meter base, riser and service entrance must be installed by a licensed contractor, that cost me just over $3,000. For two EVS, both around 1,000 miles each, I pay less than $20. It’s crazy cheap!

 

[gad1976]

You might check with your electric utility to see if they have any special rates for EV charging. My regular rate is similar to yours, but my utility has a special rate for EV charging that is only 2.3¢ per kWh in the summer and 2.7¢ per kWh in the winter, off-peak. To get that rate requires a separate drop and meter. Free from the electco , but the meter base, riser and service entrance must be installed by a licensed contractor, that cost me just over $3,000. For two EVS, both around 1,000 miles each, I pay less than $20. It’s crazy cheap!

No luck. Wisconsin appears to be a very unfriendly state to electric vehicles.

 

[ngng]

Yeah, charging away from home totally kills the price per mile. I'm with you - mine is right around $0.04/mile. I usually compare to my mom's 2014 Honda CR-V which runs at about $0.14/mile.

DC fast charging is always going to cost more since we're paying for the convenience

 

[asterothe]

Nothing compares to San Diego. SDGE charges for its cheapest plan $14.5c/kwh

 

[DayTrippin]

I am still shocked at the rates in some states. I thought it was bad when I moved to Texas and it went from ~9c/kWh to 11.25c. I think the worst I read so far was some place in Massachusetts. It made supercharging near me look cheap.

 

[uscbucsfan]

The biggest cost will likely be tires. I'd factor that in. Teslas eat tires. I spend more on tires than I do electrons.

This is accurate. 14k miles with my MY on factory tires. The MSLR is faring better tbh. Looks like I'll get 30k out of those. It really evens out the cost when comparing to a hybrid considering I averaged almost 80k on my Fusion Hybrid.

 

[gt2690b]

This is accurate. 14k miles with my MY on factory tires. The MSLR is faring better tbh. Looks like I'll get 30k out of those. It really evens out the cost when comparing to a hybrid considering I averaged almost 80k on my Fusion Hybrid.

I switched to 18s on my model Y partly because of cheaper tires and softer ride.. I've been buying used tires and getting 30k out of them so I'm spending the same on tires as I am tires and maintenance on my ICE car..

 

[uscbucsfan]

I switched to 18s partly because of cheaper tires and after ride.. I've been buying used tires and getting 30k out of them so I'm spending the same on tires as I am tires and maintenance on my ICE car..

30k is still low.

I've never been below 60k miles in an ICE car and many times hit 70-80k. Maybe you were driving other really fast cars, but EVs, due to their weight and speed, eat through tires for most owners. There are multiple Rivians getting full replacements at 6k miles. I imagine the CT will be similar.

 

[gt2690b]

30k is still low.

I've never been below 60k miles in an ICE car and many times hit 70-80k. Maybe you were driving other really fast cars, but EVs, due to their weight and speed, eat through tires for most owners. There are multiple Rivians getting full replacements at 6k miles. I imagine the CT will be similar.

Yeah 70k ish but oil changes and other maintenance still push it equal to EV maintenance/tire costs

Also I only got 70k ish in my Prius... my S2000 was only good for about 20k miles

 

[baguette]

Nothing compares to San Diego. SDGE charges for its cheapest plan $14.5c/kwh

Cheapest in Los Angeles is 26 cents per kWh with Edison’s EV plan.

 

[tivoboy]

No luck. Wisconsin appears to be a very unfriendly state to electric vehicles.

Not as unfriendly as Wyoming, where they are ACTIVELY trying to BAN EV’s. Windiest state in the lower 48, produce 60% more electricity (via wind) than they need in state, and want to BAN EV’s.

 

[cmaster]

If you want to keep the car well after the warranty, please do a comparison on it. I think you'll see that the ICE vehicles fare out better in terms of costs and maintenance.

How do I know? I own a Tesla Model S, 2017 version brand spanking new. After the 50k mile warranty ended, here's what I had to cover:

4-way coolant valve ($600)
PTC Heater Core ($1500)
Suspension ($2000)
Upper + Lower Control Arm ($1200)
Retractable Handle (all for total $1200)
Tires (replaced every year $600-1200)

All these items listed happened shortly after the warranty expires. The Tesla now has 130k miles on it.

The car is heavy so the suspension wear quite faster than ICE cars. It also wears down the tires faster since the load never changes based on fuel consumption. With ICE cars, the gas used is less weight. On EVs, it's always there, the load always remains so the tires will wear quicker.

On my Prius ICE car, 5 years after Warranty expires I never had to replace the suspension. The only thing I replaced was the alternator, 12-volt battery, and 3 sets of tires. OIl changes sure, but, it's like $20-$30 every 7000 miles at home in the garage. I used to drive roughly 20k miles a year on it. This car accumulated over 250k miles. Had it since 2008.

 

[nate704]

You forgot to leave the most important factor out of the equation. The cost of the vehicle. If you do that, EVs are not for cost saving (for now).

 

[gt2690b]

If you want to keep the car well after the warranty, please do a comparison on it. I think you'll see that the ICE vehicles fare out better in terms of costs and maintenance.

How do I know? I own a Tesla Model S, 2017 version brand spanking new. After the 50k mile warranty ended, here's what I had to cover:

4-way coolant valve ($600)
PTC Heater Core ($1500)
Suspension ($2000)
Upper + Lower Control Arm ($1200)
Retractable Handle (all for total $1200)
Tires (replaced every year $600-1200)

All these items listed happened shortly after the warranty expires. The Tesla now has 130k miles on it.

The car is heavy so the suspension wear quite faster than ICE cars. It also wears down the tires faster since the load never changes based on fuel consumption. With ICE cars, the gas used is less weight. On EVs, it's always there, the load always remains so the tires will wear quicker.

On my Prius ICE car, 5 years after Warranty expires I never had to replace the suspension. The only thing I replaced was the alternator, 12-volt battery, and 3 sets of tires. OIl changes sure, but, it's like $20-$30 every 7000 miles at home in the garage. I used to drive roughly 20k miles a year on it. This car accumulated over 250k miles. Had it since 2008.

meh.. i bought a used 2012 model S and drive it for 100k miles and sold it for the same price i bought it for.. free supercharging and free at work charging meant i didnt pay anything to drive that car.. the suspension was replaced but it was still under the 8 year warranty.. i keep in touch with the guy that bought it and that car is still going strong over 10 years later

my 2008 prius on the other hand starting burning oil at about 210k miles and was about as fun to drive as watching grass grow and i lost over 14k in the resale of it

 

[cmaster]

meh.. i bought a used 2012 model S and drive it for 100k miles and sold it for the same price i bought it for.. free supercharging and free at work charging meant i didnt pay anything to drive that car.. the suspension was replaced but it was still under warranty the 8 year warranty.. i keep in touch with the guy that bought it and that car is still going strong over 10 years later

my 2008 prius on the other hand starting burning oil at about 210k miles and was about as fun to drive as watching grass grow and i lost over 14k in the resale of it

Interesting.

The drive train warranty is unlimited miles. Not the suspension, control arms, coolant valves, etc...I'm surprised that a 2012 non-refreshed model can last that long without any maintenance on those components. The battery and the drive units are the only one that is covered only underneath the 8-year drive train warranty.

As far as that prius is concerned, not exactly why you got it 14k in repairs+maintenance....lol

 

[gt2690b]

Interesting.

The drive train warranty is unlimited miles. Not the suspension, control arms, coolant valves, etc...I'm surprised that a 2012 non-refreshed model can last that long without any maintenance on those components. The battery and the drive units are the only one that is covered only underneath the 8-year drive train warranty.

As far as that prius is concerned, not exactly why you got it 14k in repairs+maintenance....lol

I guess the suspension got replaced in the 4 year window then.. basically everything on the car was replaced under warranty and the damn door handles more than once

Not sure what you're saying about Prius

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

No luck. Wisconsin appears to be a very unfriendly state to electric vehicles.

Are you Alliant or co-op?

Alliant has a TOU rate, so depending on miles/day and other loads it could save money.
If you can download your smart meter data, you could calculate whether it would save.