Here’s What It Costs To Charge a Tesla Monthly vs. Using Gas for a Ford Escape
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Plenty of drivers have opted to go electric in recent years in order to reduce the impact of their carbon footprint, as well as save some money on fuel costs. One of the household names in electric vehicles is Tesla, which can power via rechargeable batteries. On the other hand, a Ford Escape uses a gasoline-powered engine. Which one will put a bigger dent in your wallet to fill up?
GOBankingRates asked some automotive experts to break down the math and add up what it costs to charge a Tesla against fuel costs for a Ford Escape for one month. Daniel Vasilevski, an electrician and the director and owner of Pro Electrical, used the Tesla Model 3 as an example and compared it to a Ford Escape. These are the results.
Tesla
Vasilevski’s calculations take into account that a typical driver drives about 1,100 miles a month. That means that for the Tesla, which consumes around 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles, a driver would need 275 kilowatt hours of electricity for the month.
“Most of the customers I work with charge their cars at home overnight on an off-peak rate which can be as low as $0.10 per kilowatt hour,” Vasilevski explained. “So, the monthly cost of charging their Tesla would be $27.50.”
Even if there is accounting for some public fast charging at about $0.45 per kilowatt hour or whatever’s convenient for them, Vasilevski found that a realistic blended monthly cost would likely be about $47.
Ford Escape
Vasilevski explained that the average Ford Escape model has a combined fuel economy of about 28 mpg. That means any driver who drives the same distance of 1,100 miles would likely use roughly 40 gallons of standard gasoline.
“Usually, gas prices average at about $3.80 a gallon,” Vasilevski continued, aligning with AAA National Average fuel price. “So a Ford Escape owner will spend an estimated $150 a month on gas. As you can see, the difference here is substantial. The Ford Escape driver is spending clearly more than $100 more a month just in fuel than the Tesla owner just to drive the same distance.”
Final Conclusion
From a purely fuel cost perspective, Vasilevski highlighted how the Tesla is considerably cheaper, adding that the monthly savings are strong enough to quickly recover the cost of a home charger installation, ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.
“Something very important I wanted to point out that is usually taken for granted is the combination of solar panels along with electric vehicle ownership,” Vasilevski pointed out, noting that many of his clients who install an EV charger have or are getting a solar system.
“Charging the car during the day using excess solar generation can reduce the monthly electricity cost for the vehicle to virtually zero,” concluded Vasilevski. “This completely redefines the economic argument, making the electric vehicle an asset that runs on self-generated energy, while the gasoline car will always be dependent on the volatile price of fuel.”
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