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I compared costs to drive a Tesla model y for 1000 miles and a Toyota Camry hybrid for 1000 miles when buying a car recently. With my electrical costs in SF Ba

I compared costs to drive a Tesla model y for 1000 miles and a Toyota Camry hybrid for 1000 miles when buying a car recently. With my electrical costs in SF Bay Area, that cost was $94 per 1000 miles on a Tesla and $100 per 1000 miles on a Camry hybrid. However Tesla was $20,000 more than a Camry and Camry had wider, more comfortable seats. We went with a Camry and judging by its reliability record I would probably not have to worry about anything other than a fluid change for a decade or two

lostlogin 4y ago
My Corolla had one service in 10 years. Terrible behaviour from me, but I’m not sure I was wrong as it lasted the distance. However the benefits of EV are subtle but great. Before buying I worried about range. That’s not an issue. I never have to go to petrol stations, it’s quick to get to speed, it’s quiet, it’s fun. 100% love it. Would increase that rating if the charging interface allowed ‘charge to 80%’ without nasty hacks, and if it had a dog mode. It wasn’t the cheaper option, and our fuel costs a lot more than it does in the US.
rootusrootus 4y ago
Yes, California has some of the worst electricity prices in the country, something like 3 times the national average. OTOH, I pay 4 cents per kWh to charge my EV after 10pm. I pay about as much in electricity costs per year as I was paying for gasoline per month on the last car.
- vladgur 4y ago
  4cents per kWh sounds almost like Solar :)
danans 4y ago
> With my electrical costs in SF Bay Area, that cost was $94 per 1000 miles on a Tesla With the EV2-A rate plan [1] (which you should definitely use if you drive an EV any significant amount), the 1000 miles cost much less if you limit charging to the off peak times. The Model Y gets 3.3-3.8 miles/kWh. Let's say 3.6 miles/kWh average. 1000 miles at 3.6 miles/kWh is 278kWh. Off-peak EV2-A rate: $0.26/kWh 278 kWh * $0.26/kWh ~= $72 The savings in operational energy cost for the Tesla will never pay for the difference in price, but the Model Y and Camry are fundamentally different cars in performance and functionality, so it's not really an apples to apples comparison. A more sensible comparison would be between a top-trim Camry XLE ($35000) and an entry-level trim VW ID.4 ($40000 - $7500 tax credit = $32500). But you have a point that there are very few inexpensive midsize EV sedans on the market right now. 1. https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-options/electric-vehicle-base-plan/electric-vehicle-base-plan.page https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-o...
- vladgur 4y ago
  EV-A rate is a non-starter because it pushes your electrical costs to between $0.46 and 0.57 per kWh between the hours of 3pm and midnight. Sure you can try to shift your laundry to the morning, but I suspect there would still be higher overall energy costs with EV-A especially if you have a family. The only way electric car would make sense with my rates is if I paid few thousands to install a second meter or paid tens of thousands to install solar. I bought a used low mileage 2020 Camry hybrid LE with 47+ mpg and front hip room(ie seat width) 4 inches wider than that of model y for $26000. Comparable mileage wise teslas model ys were being sold for about $47000. I searched through MYLR forums and Facebook groups and landed on reported 0.27-0.265 kWh/mi which is pretty close to your estimate of kWh per 1000mi. The biggest challenge for me was that I would not be able to arrive at $0.26 per kWh without further investments into my electrical infrastructure which would further reduce the cost savings from going electric. Tesla MYLR while being better at acceleration is ultimately not a model s - it’s a family car like a Camry. There are some benefits to it being electric or a hatchback but they did not justify an upfront cost and a fairly negligible cost of driving reduction. Note: this could be a CA issue as I’m aware that our energy costs are easily 3 times of some other states PS I was specifically seeking out LE trims on Camry because they offer 5mpg advantage over more expensive trims

lostlogin 4y ago

My Corolla had one service in 10 years. Terrible behaviour from me, but I’m not sure I was wrong as it lasted the distance. However the benefits of EV are subtle but great. Before buying I worried about range. That’s not an issue. I never have to go to petrol stations, it’s quick to get to speed, it’s quiet, it’s fun. 100% love it. Would increase that rating if the charging interface allowed ‘charge to 80%’ without nasty hacks, and if it had a dog mode. It wasn’t the cheaper option, and our fuel costs a lot more than it does in the US.

rootusrootus 4y ago

Yes, California has some of the worst electricity prices in the country, something like 3 times the national average. OTOH, I pay 4 cents per kWh to charge my EV after 10pm. I pay about as much in electricity costs per year as I was paying for gasoline per month on the last car.

vladgur 4y ago
4cents per kWh sounds almost like Solar :)

danans 4y ago

> With my electrical costs in SF Bay Area, that cost was $94 per 1000 miles on a Tesla With the EV2-A rate plan [1] (which you should definitely use if you drive an EV any significant amount), the 1000 miles cost much less if you limit charging to the off peak times. The Model Y gets 3.3-3.8 miles/kWh. Let's say 3.6 miles/kWh average. 1000 miles at 3.6 miles/kWh is 278kWh. Off-peak EV2-A rate: $0.26/kWh 278 kWh * $0.26/kWh ~= $72 The savings in operational energy cost for the Tesla will never pay for the difference in price, but the Model Y and Camry are fundamentally different cars in performance and functionality, so it's not really an apples to apples comparison. A more sensible comparison would be between a top-trim Camry XLE ($35000) and an entry-level trim VW ID.4 ($40000 - $7500 tax credit = $32500). But you have a point that there are very few inexpensive midsize EV sedans on the market right now. 1. https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-options/electric-vehicle-base-plan/electric-vehicle-base-plan.page https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/rate-plans/rate-plan-o...

vladgur 4y ago
EV-A rate is a non-starter because it pushes your electrical costs to between $0.46 and 0.57 per kWh between the hours of 3pm and midnight. Sure you can try to shift your laundry to the morning, but I suspect there would still be higher overall energy costs with EV-A especially if you have a family. The only way electric car would make sense with my rates is if I paid few thousands to install a second meter or paid tens of thousands to install solar. I bought a used low mileage 2020 Camry hybrid LE with 47+ mpg and front hip room(ie seat width) 4 inches wider than that of model y for $26000. Comparable mileage wise teslas model ys were being sold for about $47000. I searched through MYLR forums and Facebook groups and landed on reported 0.27-0.265 kWh/mi which is pretty close to your estimate of kWh per 1000mi. The biggest challenge for me was that I would not be able to arrive at $0.26 per kWh without further investments into my electrical infrastructure which would further reduce the cost savings from going electric. Tesla MYLR while being better at acceleration is ultimately not a model s - it’s a family car like a Camry. There are some benefits to it being electric or a hatchback but they did not justify an upfront cost and a fairly negligible cost of driving reduction. Note: this could be a CA issue as I’m aware that our energy costs are easily 3 times of some other states PS I was specifically seeking out LE trims on Camry because they offer 5mpg advantage over more expensive trims