Friday, January 20, 2023

Even If Electricity Were Free, It Would Still Not Pay To Buy An Electric Car

The least expensive Tesla, the Model 3 costs about $10,000 more than a Toyota, Corolla.  Even if electricity was free, how long would it take to break-even?

Let's say gasoline is $3.33/gallon.  $10k will buy you 3,000 gallons.  At 30 miles per gallon, this is 90,000 miles.  Okay, so it's possible and this doesn't take into account the lost income from waiting 9-10 years to get your $10k back.

But electricity isn't free...

Our latest bill,  (I ignored all the prices, calculations, delivery surcharges and so forth, I just looked at the KWH and the total cost.) reflects a cost of 43 Cents/KWH.  Using Tesla's claims about the storage capacity of their batteries and the range of the Model 3, we get 4 miles/KWH, so 12 Cents/mile.

If gasoline costs $3.33, a 28 MPG car will cost 12 Cents/mile.

You will never break even!

You will spend $10k, for less range, fewer and slower re-fueling and the same operating cost as a conventional car.

If you live someplace with cheap electricity, remember--even it it was free, you're still driving 90,000 miles before you break-even.


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