As we drive around the western U.S. this week, I’m tracking what I’m spending on charging, to compare to a fossil fuel vehicle. As a reminder, public charging is much more expensive than charging at home (for most of us). I used to tell my EV customers to expect the dollar equivalent of 30 MPG on long road trips.
Here’s the result, so far, on this trip. I’LL UPDATE THIS AS MY TRIP CONTINUES.
Miles traveled: 1,269
Cost of charging: $155.02 (almost exclusively Tesla Superchargers, one Blink charger)
Cost per mile: $155.02 ÷ 1,269 miles = ***12.2¢ PER MILE***
When charging at home, my cost per mile traveled is ***3.7¢ per mile*** (or less than 1/3 the cost of public charging)
How does that compare to fossil fuel? (see AAA image above. Price per gallon)
Regular: $4.3612
Mid-Grade: $4.8812
Premium: $5.2700
Diesel: $6.2847
E85: $3.3338
MPG Equivalent (MPGe) = miles driven X price per gallon ÷ total spent
In other words, your Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) would have to have this MPG to be equivalent to my Tesla (with public charging):
Regular: 1,269 miles X $4.3612 ÷ $155.02 = ***35.7 MPGe*** or
Mid-Grade: 1,269 miles X $4.8812 ÷ $155.02 = ***40 MPGe***
Premium: 1,269 miles X $5.2700 ÷ $155.02 = ***43.1 MPGe***
Diesel: 1,269 miles X $6.2847 ÷ $155.02 = ***51.4 MPGe***
E85: 1,269 miles X $3.3338÷ $155.02 = ***27.3 MPGe***
Cost of trip = miles driven ÷ MPGe X price per gallon
Regular: 1,269 miles ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG X $4.3612 = YOUR COST FOR SAME TRIP
Mid-Grade: 1,269 miles ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG X $4.8812 = YOUR COST FOR SAME TRIP
Premium: 1,269 miles ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL X $5.2700 = YOUR COST FOR SAME TRIP
Diesel: 1,269 miles ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG X $6.2847 = YOUR COST FOR SAME TRIP
E85: 1,269 miles ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG X $3.3338 = YOUR COST FOR SAME TRIP
To calculate your vehicles fuel cost per mile:
Regular: $4.3612 ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG
Mid-Grade: $4.8812 ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG
Premium: $5.2700 ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG
Diesel: $6.2847 ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG
E85: $3.3338 ÷ YOUR VEHICLE’S ACTUAL MPG
P.S. This comparison does NOT take into account that EVs NEVER have to have oil changes, transmission fluid changes, spark plug changes, engine air filter changes, timing belt replacement, tune-ups, fan/alternator belt changes and brakes last much, much longer, due to regenerative braking and an EV’s drive battery usually lasts longer than 300,000 miles.
P.P.S. This one’s really going to get to you. Some hotels offer free Level 2 charging. Level 2 is much slower than the DC Fast chargers that are commonly used for road trips, but EV drivers charge at hotels while they sleep, so the lower speed does not matter. Our hotel in Salt Lake City has four such chargers. Our first night there, we arrived with 20 miles of range left and recharged to 100% of the battery’s capacity for free. The slower Level 2 charger can fill the battery completely without stressing it due to the slower charge rate. That free “fuel” will drive our average cost per mile down after our stay there.
How often are you able to get a fill up for free?
See ya’ll on the road!
