Skip to main content

How much money can you save with an electric car?

 

If you are curious about the cost savings provided by electric cars, below are some numbers I calculated for 100,000 miles driven. 

Besides the cost savings, electric cars have other advantages that should not be overlooked. I outline some of them in this article.

 
Tesla Model Y and Lexus RX350
 
 
Nissan Leaf and Nissan Sentra

Assumptions

  • Electric car is charged at home
  • Cost of electricity: 10 cents per Kwh. This is a flat rate in Seattle, but it ranges from 4-30, depending on the state and time of day.
  • Average efficiency of Tesla Y (291 Wh/mile) and Nissan Leaf (275 Wh/mile) is 283 Wh/mile.
  • No unscheduled maintenance
  • Gas car is provided with regular maintenance (oil changes and tune-ups)
  • Batteries and tires are not included, as they would be the same for both types of cars 
  • Average gas price is $3.70
  • The gasoline car does not use premium or diesel fuel
  • Oil changes are every 5,000 miles and cost $80
  • Tune-ups are every 30,000 miles and cost $1000
  • Both gasoline and electric cars will depreciate by the same amount (not percentage) after 100,000 miles. This assumes we are comparing cars with similar features, such as Tesla Y and Lexus RX350. We are not comparing a Tesla Y and a 20 year old Civic.

Electric car

  • Total kWh used: 28,300
  • Electricity cost: $2830
  • Regular maintenance costs: none
  • Total cost: $2,830

Gas car with 20 mpg

  • Fuel cost: $18,500
  • Regular maintenance costs: $4,600
  • Total cost: $23,100

Gas car with 30 mpg

  • Fuel cost: $12,333
  • Regular maintenance costs: $4,600
  • Total cost: $16,933

Gas car with 40 mpg 

  • Fuel cost: $9,250
  • Regular maintenance costs: $4,600
  • Total cost: $13,850


These numbers change if:

  • your electricity and/or gas costs are very different from the assumptions above
  • you travel a lot and use on-the-road chargers
  • you perform your own maintenance



Popular posts from this blog

Great tires for Tesla Y

 Updated in December 2025   I have a 2021 Model Y Long Range (here is my mini review of it) with 20" wheels. After 26,000 miles on my original Goodyear F1 tires, it was time to replace them.  Summary: The Pirelli P zero all season (AS) ELECT tires dramatically improved the ride quality and road noise, while improving efficiency. If I had spent several grand for a suspension upgrade, I would not expect to see this kind of a ride quality improvement. In summary, compared to the stock tires (Goodyear F1): Ride quality is much better (I no longer avoid bumps/holes I used to avoid) Road noise is reduced by 20% (measurements shown below) Efficiency is better (see below) Handling is not quite as good (the car leans a bit more in the corners) The traction is not as good, but still very good (some may call it playful)   Trade-offs you have to make when you buy tires: Tires have two main features: Traction/rolling resistance. On the one extreme, you have very grippy, ru...
Read more

Cessna 182 fixed gear - a mini review and models with the best value

If you are trying to find the perfect personal plane, this article may help you.   A bit of my flying background (all in 182):  I have >800 hrs in two Cessna 182 models over 15 years. I bought a 1966J before my first flight lesson and used it for training, then flew it for 10 years. My home field was at 7,200 MSL, with summer DAs at 9-10K. The 182 had no problem with those altitudes. It helped that it had a 260 hp Norland STC. I have now owned a 1976P for 5 years. I think this is the best year for 182, which I explain below. I am a VFR pilot and use the plane to sight see, shoot aerial photos, and visit places with friends and family. I have landed at some pretty big airports, like SLC, ABQ, TUS, HNL, ANC, and flown through some busy airspaces (Bay area, LA area, NYC, Seattle, Phoenix...). I have flown from New Mexico to Alaska and back in 18 days with my family.   With a Cessna 182, you can fly 3 people to Denali with camping and cooking gear. Once you get there, you...
Read more

Sony RX10: one camera that does it all

Do you want to carry one camera that is excellent at almost every kind of photography, including portraits, landscapes, children running around, wildlife (including birds in flight), macro, etc? The Sony RX10 IV does it all The lens is sharp at all focal lengths and all f stops. Quite incredible. Summary (see below for more details): Has an incredible 24-600 mm equivalent lens The lens has a very bright aperture range of f2.4-4 The lens is very sharp throughout its zoom range The camera is super versatile: landscapes, portraits, wildlife, fast action... No changing lenses Has great 4K video Has a built-in flash Has very fast autofocus (with tracking) Is water resistant Shoots RAW files, which provide a much better image quality than jpegs No need to use the menu for anything (this is really an amazing, underappreciated, and misunderstood feature) Can shoot 24 frames per second, which is crazy No cleaning the sensor, ever   More details: This camera is great for all situations:...
Read more