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If achieving the absolute lowest trip cost is your main motivation, then the Model 3 was probably never the right choice to begin with, considering you likely paid $thousands more for the car itself than you would have paid for a small, very fuel efficient, and inexpensive economy vehicle in the first place. Even a $5000 price premium for the car amounts to 200 of your 600-mile trips, saving the $25/trip over the Volt (which itself is an expensive car for what you get), or a gas sipper economy car. It's very likely that you would never have made up that cost difference anyway.This now compares makes taking our Chevy Volt (40 mpg) the same as taking our M3 600 miles, right about $45, which is a bummer... The M3 used to cost about $20 or about half as much and right when we are about to run out of free SC'ing from referrals. Now I have to look in to a Prius or what else out there gets 50+mpg?
RTPEV you are correct, our M3 wasn't intended to be the cheapest thing to drive that 600 mile trip, but it previously worked out that way. It is the least expensive driving locally, since we have PV on our house and pay only $.0603 per kWh with off peak rates.
I did do some more math and $.33 average per kWh turns into over $10 a gallon. My math and correct me if I am wrong, is approx 33.7 kWh = 1 gallon of gas so $.33 times 33 = $10.80 comparable to a gallon of gas. Now granted our M3 gets about 120 miles on that "gallon" of electricity.
For anyone that travels further, on a regular basis or was using the SC as primary charging, the idea of paying more than you would for gas and waiting longer than you would for gas is no longer a selling point.
I was really hoping that Tesla users of SC's would have a reduced rate compared to other EV's at SC's, thus incentivising non Tesla owners to get a Tesla.
Bo3bdar, I totally agree, an ID4 or Bolt sitting at a SC's charging at 50 kw will quickly become the norm, since it costs less than electrify america, EVGO or Chargepoint, unless Tesla upcharges from these rates.
While I agree with everything you've said in general, I do think that the "charging at superchargers is considerably cheaper than filling gas" line of thought has a strong appeal to those considering EVs and replacing ICE cars. Even though everything you said is true and that typically most EV customers will charge at a cheaper rate at home, the average, unsophisticated car buyer isn't going to think through all of that. They're going to say well, if it costs about the same and is less convenient than a gas station for top-ups, why in the world should I bother?! I'm waiting for my MYLR, and I'm not planning on using SCs much myself when I get my car, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that this news kinda ticked me off the wrong way in a mild way because it basically deflates one whole line of argument people tend to publicize for the advantages of switching to EVs. If I had to charge at an SC regularly for my commute, I would definitely reconsider going with a PHEV if the cost of charging is neck and neck with pumping gas at the station.You took a roundabout way of arriving at the cost by trying to convert electricity to gallons and back...just make it simple and calculate the per mile cost for each.
Model 3 gets about 4 miles/kWh, so at $0.33/kWh, that is 0.33/4 or $0.0825 per mile.
Then compare to a car that gets X mpg (let's say 40), and take your best guess as to what the price of gas will be over the life of the car (volatility in gas prices is just one of the reasons I ditched gas). If you assume $3.30 (I suppose that's not a bad assumption today), the math works out the same (3.30/40) or $0.0825 per mile.
BUT--that's just to break even on the occasional trip. If I do most of my charging at home for $0.12/kWh, I'm still coming out ahead versus driving a 40mpg gas car. Although certainly not by enough to justify the $50K ($42.5K after tax credit) I paid for my Model 3 versus buying a 4-year old used Nissan Sentra or the like that could deliver 35mpg. But as I said, there are reasons beyond lifetime cost per mile that went into that decision.
For me, I look at the cost of Supercharging as offering not just electricity, but convenience. Superchargers allow me to get charge fast, and allow me to take my car on long trips, and I'm willing to pay extra for that. I'm not expecting to get anywhere near the price I pay for electricity at home.
Even if the cost of Supercharging was the same as gas, I still have the benefit of having an EV at the remote end that I can charge cheaply rather than being stuck paying $0.0825/mile while at my destination.
I don't have any problem confronting that kind of denseness by asking, "Is 100% of the use of your car all year long ONLY road trips?!" The answer is obviously no. People should be able to understand that 80-some percent of the use of their car all year long is at home around town--not road trips. So yeah, a little inconvenience on the occasional road trip is reality, but is not the majority or only use of people's cars.Even though everything you said is true and that typically most EV customers will charge at a cheaper rate at home, the average, unsophisticated car buyer isn't going to think through all of that. They're going to say well, if it costs about the same and is less convenient than a gas station for top-ups, why in the world should I bother?!
I think you are confusing a marketing statement made to justify the greater cost of the vehicle itself (compared to ICE vehicles) with a real benefit that could be considered a "main selling point". In reality, the cost savings of Supercharging over buying gas, as frequently as most people actually use it, don't actually add up to a whole lot. The same is for the 1000 free Supercharging miles that people get for referrals. That usually works out to about $35-40, so not really the big deal that it sounds like.I find it hilarious some are defending this price increase. One of the main selling points and appeals of a Tesla was to cut the cost of travel when going long distances. If you go to the supercharging page on the Tesla website it says, “The goal of the Supercharger network is to enable freedom of travel for Tesla owners at a fraction of the cost of gasoline. Reduce your cost per mile and never pay for gas again.”
“Fraction of the cost”, 15/16ths is a fraction right?I find it hilarious some are defending this price increase. One of the main selling points and appeals of a Tesla was to cut the cost of travel when going long distances. If you go to the supercharging page on the Tesla website it says, “The goal of the Supercharger network is to enable freedom of travel for Tesla owners at a fraction of the cost of gasoline. Reduce your cost per mile and never pay for gas again.”
This is the biggest miss I think. If you are opening up all SC to non Tesla's then there should absolutely be a price break for a Tesla. No matter what the pricing model is I think a Tesla should be cheaper. Just makes good business sense. then again I am not a billionaire so what do I know.I was really hoping that Tesla users of SC's would have a reduced rate compared to other EV's at SC's, thus incentivising non Tesla owners to get a Tesla.
Haha yes that is technically correct.“Fraction of the cost”, 15/16ths is a fraction right?
This is the biggest miss I think. If you are opening up all SC to non Tesla's then there should absolutely be a price break for a Tesla. No matter what the pricing model is I think a Tesla should be cheaper. Just makes good business sense. then again I am not a billionaire so what do I know.