This popped up in my news feed Tesla Supercharging now more expensive than petrol refuelling
Surely it can't be right. At least not here in the UK.
Surely it can't be right. At least not here in the UK.
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Supercharging more expensive than petrol?
- Thread starter StuC
- Start date
AndrewGR
Member
At a conservative 3 miles / kWh and 26p / kWh at a supercharger the Tesla is costing about 9p/ mile. If a similar petrol car does 40mpg and petrol is about £6 / gallon then the petrol car is about 15p / mile - so more than 50% more. Of course there are lots of variables here but the main one is that few will charge mostly at superchargers.
You are correct. It's not right.
AndrewGR
Member
rincewind
Member
ACarneiro
Active Member
Of course you can’t fully charge it in one go, unless you have 3 phase power.
I do wish Go went on for a bit longer.
I do wish Go went on for a bit longer.
rincewind
Member
As do I. That said, I make sure I don't charge more then 40% - which is generally all I need after a days driving. If I need more, I do it the following night.
Sean.
Active Member
Rustybkts
Member
I saw that on my FB feed. It reads as utter bollox and certainly weighted towards if not paid for by Big Oil.
As others have said, ICE's have no option but to use filling stations whereas EV's can charge from a variety of sources.
The author obviously has a grudge against EV's but the trouble is that his words will be taken as true by so many. Print so often is.
As others have said, ICE's have no option but to use filling stations whereas EV's can charge from a variety of sources.
The author obviously has a grudge against EV's but the trouble is that his words will be taken as true by so many. Print so often is.
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Rustybkts
Member
I wish! On a recent drive over the NC500 I didn't use a Chargeplace Scotland Rapid once without failure.
One with unresponsive touch screen, three out of service, another with a faulty card reader (CYC App did work but no instructions at all on the Rapid regarding this), and another two that displayed CCS comms error after starting but refused to charge.
We survived using destination chargers and 13A sockets at hotels after leaving the Supercharger safety blanket at Fort William.
No wonder there is so much resistance against buying EV's. I wouldn't have a non Tesla for long distance trips if you paid me.
That is only an issue if driving a lot every day, as otherwise no issue if it takes a few nights to fully charge.
The Australian Tesla website comparison is clearly in need of an update, but the article’s calculations look off to me.
fuelly.com shows the 330i achieving 8.5L/100km. If my calcs are right, that makes it 11.73 AU¢/km. If I use my M3P lifetime average of 360Wh/mi (which is savage compared to many of you here), then it would be 11.63 AU¢/km – slightly cheaper for my Tesla than the 330i. However, I bet my efficiency in Sidney would be much better due to higher average temperatures.
With my local supermarket petrol prices today, it would be 8.917 p/km for the 330i v 5.592 p/km for my M3P – much cheaper for my Tesla.
Looks like petrol is cheaper in Australia than the UK and Supercharger electricity more expensive. At the prices in that article, petrol costs the equivalent of 75.238 p/L and Supercharger electricity 28.35 p/kWh (AU$1 = £0.5452). Seems the Aussies don’t get taxed so heavily on fuel as we do.
As others have rightly pointed out, most of us get enough juice for the day at way under supercharger electricity prices. Also, the servicing costs for the 330i aren’t factored in (negligible for an EV).
The whole article is specious IMO, but it is true that much lower running costs are an argument for driving an EV. I was saving £290/month before the pandemic. Our government will likely find a way to tax the electricity for charging cars at some point, and I think this advantage will disappear over time.
re: losing tax revenue on EV charging. I suspect either those using a smart meter will have charges for EV's tagged and therefore taxed differently, or we'll see mile driven charging instead of fuel duty. Both of which have issues and since there is a push for zero emission driving as well as loads of ICE still about it's probably some time away,
For me, a cost I didn't really factor in was how much extra I would spend on coffee/food I would consume while charging. Although man math says I saved £40 on fuel, therefore I can spend £30 on a meal/drink and still be £10 better off..
For me, a cost I didn't really factor in was how much extra I would spend on coffee/food I would consume while charging. Although man math says I saved £40 on fuel, therefore I can spend £30 on a meal/drink and still be £10 better off..
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