Here’s What It Costs To Charge a Tesla Monthly vs. Using Gas for a GMC Sierra
Written by
Travis Woods
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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One major provision of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was its discontinuation of the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit on Oct. 1, 2025. That tax credit had been created to incentivize new car buyers into purchasing an EV by rewarding them with $7,500, thus helping buyers offset a portion of a new EV’s cost.
Without it, EV buyers now have to pay full price for such popular environmentally-friendly rides as the Tesla, without any tax-based incentives. That begs the question: Can car shoppers still find savings by purchasing an EV such as a Tesla, versus an internal-combustion ride?
As a for instance, what would it cost to recharge a Tesla monthly, instead of paying for gas on a popular vehicle like the GMC Sierra? Could you save money over time by charging rather than paying at the pump?
The Cost Breakdown
To determine an answer, a baseline of information first must be established.
Let’s assume a driving average of 1,100 to 1,200 miles monthly (per the Federal Highway Administration’s average American driving distance of 13,476 miles per year, or 1,123 miles per month). Further, the national average cost of electricity is approximately 17 cents per kWh (per EnergySage), and the American average gas price is $3.15 per gallon (per Autoweek).
With that information in hand, per the Tesla Calculator it costs approximately $35 to $60 per month to charge popular Tesla models (such as the Model 3 and Y) for the average American’s monthly driving distances. Conversely, the 2025 GMC Sierra 1500’s fuel economy of 17 to 19 miles per gallon (per Edmunds), when expended across 1,123 miles per month, results in approximately 62.4 gallons used monthly, or $197 to $210 spent per month on gas (depending on such variables as exact miles per gallon and gas prices by region).
The answer, then, is rather clear: Even without tax credits, EV owners can still save by owning something like a Tesla versus something like a GMC Sierra, with the gas guzzler costing approximately $200 monthly in gas prices, with the Tesla only requiring $35 to $60 in charging fees.
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