My Tesla Model Y Juniper Cost $41 to Charge at Home for Just 282 Miles, Boston Gas Would Be $15 for the Same Distance

There's something wrong here. Those numbers are insane! Their utility charges you $10 JUST TO PLUG IN?? WTF!!? I'm in PG&E land with the highest electricity prices in the country, and it only costs me $18 to charge my Bolt. Something is way off base here.

The math is not mathing on this article.

By all accounts posted by Internet/YouTube reviewers, the Model Y Juniper (refresh) has a battery that has a nomimal charging capacity of 75KWH 0-100%. If the user who reported the $41 figure charged 0-100% (unlikely) at .33 per kwh, the total to charge it would be $24.75. But it's unlikely that he started from 0%, unless he had the vehicle towed back to his garage, so it's probably less than that. 10-100% would be 67.5KWH of charging, times .33 is $22.28. Hum. That's almost half of $41.

Then to compare it to a Corolla, well, the vehicles are not comparable, the Model Y has tons more interior space and from a performance capability standpoint the vehicles are not even close.

A RAV4 Prime would probably be a better comparison, those have a similar price tag to a Model Y and decent interior space and performance, but the tech is worse on the Toyota and then you've got a gas engine to maintain. No thanks.

I live in Texas and the operating cost between my Lightning and my former 13MPG truck is not close, electricity is 10 cents a killowatt hour here, even with relatively cheap gas, it's a lot cheaper to run the Lightning. I charge 95% at home, although I did take a 1000 mile road trip to take my kids to the beach on Spring Break. I bought a Tesla membership for the month for $12.99 and paid between 24 and 35 cents per KWH on the road using exclusively Tesla Superchargers. Still cheaper than my old truck. Love my Lightning!

In Kentucky the rate is $0.1 kwh. It's very cheap to charge. Also, it's hard to convey the convenience of having a gas station in your garage. Driving a Wrangler 4xe and love it. Won't go back to a pure ice vehicle again.

I drive a Chevrolet Bolt, have a 13kw solar system and 2 powerwall.

My most expensive electric bill this year was 14 dollars, only because we had a lot of cloud cover.

Could this person do better with panels, batteries, a better power plan and knowing when to charge.

What gas powered sedan that goes 0-60 in 4.7 seconds is going to cost $15 to go 282 miles? You can’t compare a 4.7 0-60 luxury sedan to a corolla. Compare it to a M3 or an Amg. Those cars get 16-17 mpg. A cost in those cars to go 282 miles is about $43 at 2.60, or more if you consider they take premium fuel.

I don't think your calculation is correct. So you are only getting less than 2 miles per kw hour? My tesla gets around 4 miles per kw hour. so if i drive 290 miles divided by 4 I get 72 kwh now multiply by $.33 is about $24. you must either be flooring it or driving uphill or stop and go traffic. sometimes I even get 6 miles per kwh. I'm lucky I get free charging at work. lol. so cost me $0. been 6 months and driven 7000 miles total cost $100, lol.

The math is quite bad here to sensationalize the results. You should never include fixed costs in this analysis as the $10 is paid in both scenarios. Is 33 cents per kwH without the fixed fees? And you are assuming that a gasoline vehicle equivalent would give you 53 mpg? No, flat wrong. Also using 90+ kwH for only 282 miles is almost double national avg. It should have taken 62kwH. Actual cost compare is $20.46 for electricity vs $37.65 for a gas SUV equivalent.

If he's buying a new car every year he's got more money (or debt) than brains.

False news.
75KWhr battery should only take $0.17 X 75 = $12.75 to charge. For $41, that assumes each kWhr is $0.55, which is total lie as Boston average electricity rate is $0.16 to $0.25 per kWhr.

Anybody who buys a Tesla for $50k+ for the performance and cachet, pretends to be doing it to "save money", and then frets about charging costs, ignoring purchase price, depreciation and insurance, is penny wise and pound foolish. But when you suggest an Accord Hybrid for lower cost to own they counter with not having 0-60 holliganism and fart mode abilities. Make up your mind what's important.

When thinking about getting an EV, do the math. How many kwh will the EV use per distance, i.e. 100km, what is the price per kwh where you live, do you have access to an outlet to charge at or do you have to rely on 3rd party EV charging networks. In the end compare the $/km, or $/mile of an EV and ICE cars. Don't look at the BS numbers of MPGe. Cost is the only true way to compare the value of whether an EV is worth it.

In Ontario, Canada, I pay 10c/kwh between 7pm-7am. Tesla model 3 uses about 16kwh to drive 100km, so about $1.60 in "fuel" for 100km (60miles). A typical sedan will require about 8L/100km, and a price of $1.30/L at the pump is $10.40 of fuel for 100km. So that's a savings of almost $9/100km. With an average annual usage of 20000km, that's about $1,800CAD per year just in fuel savings. Your usage will determine your savings.

In the end do the math to see what is worth it for you, don't just accept other's words as gospel.

The article states "But in Boston, it costs $41 to drive 282 miles, that’s about 33 cents a mile." This is simply not true. $41/282 = $0.145, not $0.33.

I also wonder why it took 125 kWh to charge the vehicle? The Tesla Model Y battery shouldn't need more than 90 kWh to fully charge (according to Google).

It is very easy to compare gasoline and electricity costs. A gallon of gasoline gives about the same amount of driving as 10 kWh. So $2.90 a gallon costs the same as $0.29 electricity. Just move the decimal point. $0.50 per kWh from a fast charger is the same travel cost as $5.00 a gallon gasoline.

Even though I am no big fan of EVs, you should give them the proper mileage cost. 282 miles at $41 ends up being $0.145 per mile, not $0.33. At least you managed to get the punctuation right, which is often nonexistent in online articles.

Just checked, the average price for a gallon of mid grade gasoline in the Boston area is $3.63 gallon. So unless you're driving a hybrid, with a mpg of 60 mpg, your energy cost is about the same.

Let's just do the math.

Model Y Juniper has a 75kwh battery with a range of 357 (RWD) or 327 (AWD). We'll assume he has the less efficient AWD variant.

327mi / 75kwh = 4.36 (mi per kwh)
4.36 (mi/kwh) / .33 ($/kwh) = 13.21 (mi per dollar)

If your car has 281mi on the odometer and you charged it to 100% then you have paid for 608mi (281+327) total.

608mi / 13.21 ($/mi) = $46

This makes sense if the car arrived partially charged.

Compare that to a typical crossover SUV with 25mpg (ignoring that a comparable horsepower crossover SUV would likely get less mpg than average).

25 (mi/gal) / 2.60 ($/gal) = 9.62 (mi per dollar)

So that same 608 miles would cost $63.23 (608/9.62)

tl;dr - Model Y fuel cost is less than a gas powered equivalent.

What kind of dumb math is this? His car likely has a 63 kW. After fees he pays $0.33. a FULL charge could not possibly cost more than $21.

Why are we even trying to add the $10 fee? Does he not have electricity if he doesn't have the car? Maybe we should add the cost of the house he puts it in too.

You can't be serious. A model Ys battery is like 75kwh so even if they did a full charge which would be result in over 300 miles of range 75*.33 brings you to a out $25 for a FULL charge. Looking at the bill they used over 800kwh of power that month and if there's a 10 monthly charge on power, that would equate to .93 cents for that charge. So absolute worst case it's 26. Lastly at that gas price for them to make it 285 miles they would be getting 55mpg. Hard to believe that.

I pay 6.8 cents a kWhr to charge at home. My electricity is stupidly cheap. Meanwhile, gas is currently 3.50 a gallon here. Safe to say that even a massive electric truck is far cheaper to drive here than the most fuel efficient hybrids.

I have been reading about electric vehicles.on how they charge, how long it takes to get a full charge and how much you'd be spending on electric bill at home when your charge at home or if you go use a charging station.
It's been years since I have driven and I really don't miss it. I drove a Ford ranger at the time and it would cost me about $15.00 to fill 1/2 tank. Plus registration, maintance costs like tuneups, oil changes etc. Right now I either walk, use an adult tricycle, public transit, or hitch a ride with a friend and give him or her a few bucks for gas or electric charging. I am saving money, helping the environment, and not spending money to join a health club.

Woah those are rates we get at super chargers. My home near Seattle gets 12c/kwh

This is $.33/kwh charging at home?

Your issue is with corrupt government. There's no reason electricity should cost that much. I'm on time of use charging in Oregon and the highest cost is $.28 during peak hours and $.08 overnight. It used to be $.04/kwh but corrupt politicians are alive and thriving here as well. But $.33 as a standard? Even the highest price retail prices I pay at superchargers is $.27 to $.41/kwh.

This is 100% location based where I live I’ve spent 55 bucks charging at home the last month and used 573 kWhs or basically 2000+ miles.

Such a long analisis is not needed, as it is as simple as not stopping at the pump that has gas at $5 a gallon when there is one available at $2.60.
On the other hand the EV owner should have known that his KWhr cost is almost 3 times the national average before the purchase. Owning an EV with such an at home rate is an expensive way to impress neighbors or coworkers :(

I see too many journalists comparing ICE vehicles with BEV. There's more to it than finances and the cool factor. It's about the environment for me. I want my grandkids to have a better biosphere to live in. BEV's aren't perfect, but they represent a significant step in the right direction. I pay a little more for electricity because I'm trying to support the renewable energy industry. Some BEV owners might have the same attitude. We've had ICE vehicles for 100 years. Let's give EV's 100 years in mass production. Then let's compare them to ICE vehicles (if there are any).

If you’re surprised by this, you’re incredibly gullible, and your government is very grateful.

It cost me 15.00 at a fast charger
At the house when I recharge I recharge at night 12 to 6am. I charge every night with my house and car costs me 300 a month.you have to tell your electric company you own an electric car you get a discount. Im in southern CA

Don't need 2 space ships in my driveway . That space is for my wife's scat pack and my Hellcat thank you.

When I was shopping for a new vehicle I compared EV, Plug-in Hybrids, and Hybrids. I live in South Eastern MA and because our state legislature passed legislation to fund MA Save by adding a "Distribution Adjustment" charge to our electric and gas bills, EVs are not practical. When you add everything up electricity really cost us 39 cents per kw.
I believe energy diversification is the answer. I actually calculated $45.00 to fully charge a model Y on 240v. I also calculated $7.00 to charge. RAV4 plug in hybrid. That's an expensive 44 miles. I purchased a RAV4 Hybrid Limited and no regrets. It averages 56.4mpg, $23.00 to fill from 1/4 tank. It's also got an incredible cruising range.

So to summarize:
Driver lives in an area where cost of electricity is "significantly higher than the national average" (28.27 cents vs 16.15 per kWh) and gas is significantly lower than the national average ($2.16 vs $3.14 / gallon), and therefore his EV savings don't align with national average.
Got it, thanks!