Model S Operating Costs = $0.93 / Gallon Equivalent

[Jack]

I'm coming up on 6 months of owning my Model S, and just did some math on the operating costs.

I've logged 6,000 miles @ 2,000 kwh. At my cost of .14 / kwh, I've accrued $280 in energy costs. An equivalent icemobile, say 7 - S - A8 - assuming 20 MPG - would have burned 300 gallons of petrol - at the cost of $1,050 @ $3.50 / gallon. So my equivalent cost per gallon is 28/105*$3.50 = $0.93. Further, considering that i'm able to charge at work, in Boston parking garages and on the road with no cost, i'm realizing about $0.35/Gallon - exactly what i paid to fill my '68 Charger!

On another note - has anyone else experienced a change in charge capacity after 4.5 - i was charging to 242 prior to 4.5, and now charge to 236 - further, the Android App rated range does not match the range reported in the car - the release notes mentioned something about this, but it was a bit cryptic - as passionate as we are about the car, charging capacity is a major metric i watch carefully and don't quite appreciate the change and its implications (why done, impact on battery life, when to 'trip charge', etc.). Any insights here would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[archibaldcrane]

Premium fuel is only 3.50/gal in Boston right now?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Denarius]

I love seeing numbers like this. I haven't taken delivery yet but with premium here hovering around 3.80 at the moment and with my electric costs at .087 per kWh, my operating costs are going to drop significantly.

 

[brianman]

On another note - has anyone else experienced a change in charge capacity after 4.5 - i was charging to 242 prior to 4.5, and now charge to 236

92% 4.4 "standard"
90% 4.5 "default after upgrading"

That's my current theory.

 

[Jack]

92% 4.4 "standard"
90% 4.5 "default after upgrading"

That's my current theory.

That foots perfectly with my numbers. But why the change? There surely has been a lot of discussion about best charging practices, which affects our day-to-day behavior - so it would be most helpful to understand the rationale behind this change.

 

[ChadS]

Agreed, there are a lot of things that would be helpful to know, and I'd love to know this too. But Tesla has a habit of not telling us. I assume it's because they want the flexibility to change it in the future, though I could make other guesses.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

Two of your most critical numbers are very different from mine. First, my wife's BMW 535 Gran Turismo gets a combined 15 mpg, even with the smallest engine BMW offers for that car. And premium unleaded (91/93 octane) around here is around $4.00/gallon ($3.85 to $4.20 range). With those numbers, the Model S comes out even better.

I've gotten used to explaining the comparison to others simply in cents per mile. The BMW (15 mpg @ $4.20) costs $0.28/mile, while the Model S (350 Wh/mile, $0.12/KWh) costs $0.04/mile. That's a 7x difference, or an 85% lower cost per mile.

 

[deonb]

Two of your most critical numbers are very different from mine. First, my wife's BMW 535 Gran Turismo gets a combined 15 mpg, even with the smallest engine BMW offers for that car. And premium unleaded (91/93 octane) around here is around $4.00/gallon ($3.85 to $4.20 range). With those numbers, the Model S comes out even better.

I've gotten used to explaining the comparison to others simply in cents per mile. The BMW (15 mpg @ $4.20) costs $0.28/mile, while the Model S (350 Wh/mile, $0.12/KWh) costs $0.04/mile. That's a 7x difference, or an 85% lower cost per mile.

Miles per dollar may be better relatable for some people than cents per mile. You BMW goes 3.5 miles on a dollar. You Tesla goes 25.

 

[xray]

My electricity bill has actually gone down after we got the car because we actually started paying attention to it. Converting to LED lightbulbs, turning off the computer with 4 monitors, and generally stopping the ridiculously inefficient behaviors which we had before we got the car have resulted in bills that are lower.

As of today, I've used 6515.2 miles, 2459.9 kWh, avg energy 378Wh/mile. I'm on TOU with Southern California Edison, which just recently changed rates (again!!). It used to be $0.20 cents for super off peak but I believe it's now $0.10 per kW. Not all my charge has been at home but for illustrations purposes, let's say I paid about ~$250 for those ~2500 kwh. I use to have a 550GT, which would get under 15 miles per gallon but lets be generous and say I got 15 miles per gallon (while going downhill constantly). 6515 miles/15 miles per gallon is 434 gallons. Around here, I'll use about $4 as an easy way to calculate that it would have cost me $1736 to cover the same number of miles. We could attempt that same illustration with my Prius V, we'll say I get 40 mpg, which I don't, but let's say I do. That would be ~163 gallons or $652. Of course, those that drive a Prius would argue that the car costs a lot less and therefore the comparison is ludicrous. I would agree. Of course, you wouldn't buy the Tesla solely for purposes of getting gas mileage. You buy (or lease it) to drive similar to an equivalently priced BMW but efficiently like a Prius (or equivalent small car). It's like getting the best of both worlds.

My simple illustration when asked is I can go about 200 miles on my 85 kwh battery (real world driving). I pay about $8 to charge that battery so I get about 100 miles per equivalent gallon (at $4 per gallon).
I think when you say 100 miles per gallon, that gets peoples' attention.

 

[brianman]

92% 4.4 "standard"
90% 4.5 "default after upgrading"

That's my current theory.

My REST data seems to support the 92-93 to 90 change as well:

https://portal.vn.teslamotors.com/vehicles/5681/command/charge_state

charging_state=Complete
charge_to_max_range=false
battery_level=93

https://portal.vn.teslamotors.com/vehicles/5681/command/vehicle_state

car_version=1.31.11

https://portal.vn.teslamotors.com/vehicles/5681/command/charge_state

charging_state=Complete
charge_limit_soc=90
charge_limit_soc_std=90
charge_limit_soc_min=50
charge_limit_soc_max=100
charge_to_max_range=false
battery_level=90

https://portal.vn.teslamotors.com/vehicles/5681/command/vehicle_state

car_version=1.33.44

 

[fluxemag]

I've had the car a little over a week. Pre-cooling the car, even when not plugged in when it's 108 outside. Driving the wheels off it, still around 375Wh/mi. With SRP rates on TOU under 7 cents per kWh, it's costing me about 2.5 cents per mile. My G37 in comparison cost around 20 cents per mile at $3.75 gas and 19mpg. If I drove like a normal person (which I won't), I could get it closer to the rated range, but that would only be 2 cents per mile. I'll pay the extra $75 a year to drive it fast and keep it cool. And once the charging station goes in at work...all bets are off. It would be nice if the app would allow you to set a temp when the car is plugged in to keep the cabin under a certain limit. I'm not saying keep it 75 degrees in there all day, but I don't like the idea of the car getting up to 150 in the summer. And currently the climate control only stays on 30 min.