One of the key advantages of electric vehicles is not having to pay for petrol. This was particularly great for Tesla owners when charging stations were still free.
But for those who primarily charge at home on a daily basis, does it really work out cheaper?
Tesla recently crunched the numbers against the Model X 75D.
The auto manufacturer calculated that 7 kWh per day is enough to replenish the average daily commute. This number was drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which calculated the average annual commute at roughly 15,000km.
This stat was then combined with average Australian energy prices obtained from Canstar Blue electricity and concluded that is costs approximately $2.44 per day to charge a Model X 75D. That $890.60 over the course of 12 months — which is a whole lot less than what I have ever paid for petrol.
There are also ways to bring this number further down — even if you don’t have solar panels and a Powerwall, which is another story entirely. AGL have a 12-month program that offers $1 per day for electric vehicle charging, which makes the total $365 for the first year. Tesla also offer 400 KWh Supercharger credits (roughly 1,600km) annually to Model S and X owners.
Of course, these numbers are based off general statistics and one particular Tesla model, so the numbers aren’t going to be entirely accurate. There are always outliers (It will cost a lot more if you’ve come back for a longer trip, for example) and Tesla owners are going differ when it comes to usage and charging behaviour — not to mention differences in electricity providers alone. Still, it’s good to have a petrol comparison, as well as a rough idea of how much an EV will add to your electricity bill over time.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/06/elon-musk-claims-tesla-will-never-do-motorcycles-because-he-was-almost-killed-riding-one/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/gt2qsiz5gxmfl3dajjqp.gif” title=”Elon Musk Claims Tesla Will Never Do Motorcycles Because He Was Almost Killed Riding One” excerpt=””No motorcycles.”GIF. Tesla
During Tuesday’s Tesla shareholder meeting, CEO Elon Musk said the company would never develop motorcycles because he almost died while riding one when he was 17.”]