First Roadtrip- Wildly inefficient and expensive!

[CyberGus]

Let's see what people feel like in a few years when electricity is twice as expensive and gas is the same.

That would make free Supercharging more valuable, but I don't see that happening.

Energy prices are cyclical, and right now the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline is near a decades-long low:

Meanwhile, electricity prices have been rising steadily in the last 3 decades, due to supply and demand. Demand has exploded with the rise of personal computers, network infrastructure, cryptocurrency, and AI/LLMs (and probably all those jerks with EVs lol).

Note that electricity prices strongly correlate to natural-gas prices, because over 40% of the US grid is from natural gas. I expect these prices to decouple as more renewables come online.

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[TJCJr9999]

I did not buy the CT because i thought it was going to save me money on fuel. in fact i live in a high rise that offers free charging so my typical weekly energy cost is basically zero. Been dying to take the CT for a quick road trip so I decided to run over to Lake Charles (from Houston) and spend the day at the sports book watching football. The FSD was absolutely fantastic I did take over a few times due to ridiculous road construction and some really bad weather but overall it was great. I had charged to 95% and got decent milage on the way there and my actual milage was only about 30% below the range estimate (which i thought was good considering I was going 75-80 the whole way.

Since i get free charging I really haven't paid much attention to comparing the efficiency but on the way back i went to a supercharger and it cost me $14 for 100 miles of range (which means I will get about 70 miles). My Mercedes SUV gets ~20mpg so 70 miles would be about 3.5 gallons, at $3.5 a gallon that is $12.25 to travel the same distance or $1.75 more to drive my CT than a gas car.

This is my first electric vehicle and maybe i am thinking about this wrong but I certainly never thought it would cost MORE to operate an electric vehicle than a gas one. I love this truck, probably the favorite car I have ever owned and taking this road trip was really a fantastic experience, driving with FSD is really relaxing and I arrived at the casino feeling totally rested and ready to go. Even at a higher cost it is worth taking the CT and I will be planning another trip soon but seems like they really need to work on the efficiency.

Come on man, do the math, Charging just at home;
Real World data (ONLY charging at home), 2024 Tesla Cyberbeast 79 mile trip to Cornell for a college visit, burned 30 kWh (measured), at my current NYSEG electricity rate as calculated from my 15Jul2024 bill of $0.17/kWh, COSTS $5.10, for a full size pickup truck, driver + 2 passengers.

Real world data (Charging at home, PLUS supper charging), same truck 330 mile trip to another college, loaded down with a dorm room of junk, slightly higher at home rate $0.22/kWh, plus a couple of super chargers at $0.40/kWh, cost for 330 mile trip $41.17 total, home plus super charging....
so lets see what an F150 costs with the same data, 330 miles 25 miles/gallon (maybe, but more like 20 miles/gallon, my Tundra barely got 17miles/gallon), $3.00/gal (yeah sure), $39.60

Notice not including ANY maintenance...................

 

[getsometom]

Only charging at superchargers is comparable to an ICE vehicle unless you have the free supercharging deal. For most people who charge at home, it becomes less expensive due to the cheaper rates...sometimes free depending on the provider's plan.

 

[pricedm]

Huh? My MPGe was 90+ on a road trip. Compared to 17 mpg for ICEmobile truck. Significantly less money spent on fuel for the Cybertruck compared to alternatives.

 

[MetroWestMA]

That would make free Supercharging more valuable, but I don't see that happening.

Energy prices are cyclical, and right now the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline is near a decades-long low:

Meanwhile, electricity prices have been rising steadily in the last 3 decades, due to supply and demand. Demand has exploded with the rise of personal computers, network infrastructure, cryptocurrency, and AI/LLMs (and probably all those jerks with EVs lol).

Note that electricity prices strongly correlate to natural-gas prices, because over 40% of the US grid is from natural gas. I expect these prices to decouple as more renewables come online.

That would make free Supercharging more valuable, but I don't see that happening.

Energy prices are cyclical, and right now the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline is near a decades-long low:

Meanwhile, electricity prices have been rising steadily in the last 3 decades, due to supply and demand. Demand has exploded with the rise of personal computers, network infrastructure, cryptocurrency, and AI/LLMs (and probably all those jerks with EVs lol).

Note that electricity prices strongly correlate to natural-gas prices, because over 40% of the US grid is from natural gas. I expect these prices to decouple as more renewables come online.

The demand for electricity over the next 10 years because of AI, EV, and robotics will vastly exceed grid capacity, cheaper natural gas, and renewables.

China has prepared well, the US has not.

The only hope is someone commercializing a breakthrough small energy source, which I don't think is out of the question.

Without that electricity prices will be a hockey stick.

 

[FL370]

Harsh. Fairly true for the most part though.

Yes, this. 4 to 5 times more expensive in my case. On our latest road trip I had to use EA and they charged $0.65 per kWh. A price I am beyond OK paying when I needed it in the middle of the redwoods of CA, with no Tesla charger around. Convenience fees.

 

[Cirrus SR22]

I feel like a broken record here but to all you “free supercharging is worth less than 5k over the life of the car” people, I am once again calling BS. Especially on a Cybertruck.
This thread is another example of the shock of a new EV person to costs we have learned to ignore.
5k a year is closer.
OP, you are right. Tesla functionally has a monopoly on the EV charging market even though there are other competitors because of the head start they have. They can charge whatever they want and will still sell the juice.

5k over the life of the vehicle? I use 1k per month of Free SC, that’s 12k a year savings or 60k savings in 5 years. Yes, I drive 40-50k miles per year.

 

[hemiarch]

5k over the life of the vehicle? I use 1k per month of Free SC, that’s 12k a year savings or 60k savings in 5 years. Yes, I drive 40-50k miles per year.

Correct. It’s total horseshit.

 

[Hazard One]

Here's a quick spreadsheet that shows when an EV is more cost efficient than an ICE vehicle in terms of energy cost per mile (KW vs Dino-fuel). Input your KW/mile and ICE miles per gallon in upper left. The solar crowd has to do some math regarding cost and lifespan of their system. Here's a link to USA-wide electric costs (https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/) and another for gasoline and diesel (https://gasprices.aaa.com/state-gas-price-averages/). Bottom line is (shocking!), it depends. But, in general, if you charge at home you are WAY ahead in most States, and if you use superchargers you are kinda ahead, but there are places where an ICE vehicle making 20 mpg will outperform a CT using public chargers/superchargers.

 

[jahansolu]

The CT is basically a 16MPG pickup truck - compared to the cost of gas when using the Tesla SCs at normal rates.
Some trucks are better, some trucks are worse.
But with the features that the CT has, it gets about 2MPG - cost wise better than the gas counterpart.
To counter that, I top off the CT at the local SC during non-peak hours for 50% off rates. (My local SC is $0.17 during off peak compared to $0.34)

WOW… $0.17 is a dream… that’s the price of Home charging here in Vancouver. It’s $0.30-$0.50 at the supercharger. I wish I was in your city

 

[hemiarch]

Man. I remember when we had our p90D and eventually very early bolt that level 2 charging was free basically everywhere and so was supercharging. Times have changed a lot.

 

[Hazard One]

Here's another look that ranks US States by which are best for EVs in terms of gas price versus electric cost at your residence using the same source data as my post above.

 

[Hazard One]

Here's another look that ranks US States by which are best for EVs in terms of gas price versus electric cost at your residence using the same source data as my post above.

Here's another look that ranks US States by which are best for EVs in terms of gas price versus electric cost at your residence using the same source data as my post above.

ok, seems this forum has issues with file quality...lemme adjust and re-post

 

[Hazard One]

Spreadsheet updated with Rank ordered "which State is best for EV's" tab....

 

[hemiarch]

Interesting that it doesn’t really seem to follow the geopolitical pattern you would expect, but the whole environmentalist EV thing has turned completely topsy turvy and therefore somewhat unpredictable in the last few years.
I for one definitely did not see that coming.

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