Two factors affect the cost of charging an electric car:
- How full is your battery?
- What is the cost of your electricity per kilowatt-hour (kWh)?
My car had a 60 kWh lithium-ion battery for the first one. I was able to go about 215 miles on a single charge. Let’s just say that I run about 107.5 miles per day. At the end of the day, I still have 107.5 miles. The battery is “half full”, which means that only 30 kWh have been used.
The cost of electricity will depend on whether you have solar power or your utility. Before installing solar panels, I used a variable rate plan that provided electricity at a lower price during the day and higher prices during the night. I charged my car only when it was cheaper, which was $0.07 per kWh.
I used 30 kWh of electricity to power my home at $0.07/KWh (roughly $2.10). If I did this every day for 30 days, it would be just over $60 the cost of about half a tank of gas.
The Tesla calculator will give you a slightly higher number, as the newer cars are less efficient than my “old” Model S. This is due to the faster acceleration of larger batteries in the cars.