How Expensive is it to Charge an Electric Car?

I have talked to many friends that are also electric car enthusiasts. We talk about many aspects of electric cars such as an electric work truck and how practical that would be. A question that is always in the mix is: What will it cost to charge my electric vehicle?

The cost is made of two important variables:

1. The battery (which has a depletable life) broken down as a daily cost is $1.23 per day. The daily battery replacement cost to drive your electric vehicle is $1.23 a day. That would be a monthly cost of $36.90.
2. The per kilowatt hour cost of your electric rate in 2022 is about 15 cents per kWh for the average U.S. consumer. If you drive the average 35 miles per day you divide the average 3.5 miles per kWh into 35 to get 10. Multiply 10 times .15 cent per kWh and you get $1.50. The daily electric service cost to charge and drive your electric vehicle is about $1.50 a day. If you look at this months average Dallas electric rates the average price was about 18 cents per kWh so it could go up or down based on these fluctuations in the electric rates markets.

Total daily battery replacement and electric service cost to charge and drive your electric vehicle is $2.73 a day.

Total monthly battery replacement and electric service cost to charge and drive your electric vehicle is $81.90

What if I want to charge my vehicle faster at my house?

You are likely going want to charge your electric vehicle fast and so that means paying $2,000 to install a level two charger in your garage. This added cost is outside the scope of your average cost to charge your electric vehicle but its an important point to consider.

Comparing the Cost of Gasoline Driven Vehicles to Electric Vehicle Fuel Costs.

In comparison to the costs of a gasoline driven vehicle going the average comparable distance in miles the cost for gas driven vehicles is: $126 a month

I did not even add in maintenance costs associated with repairing the engine etc.

Taking a Deeper Dive Into the Electric Vehicle Fuel Cost Math

Starting with point number 1: We will take a conservative estimate of the cost of buying and replacing a Tesla battery. The labor and parts comes to around $14,000.

The battery will last around 300,000 to 500,000 miles. The average U.S. driver drives about 35 miles a day. Will go with 400,000 as the median amount of miles. That means you could drive for 11,428 days before your battery dies or 31 years.

So your daily battery cost is $1.23 per day.

Regarding Point 2: An electric car gets about 3.5 miles per kWh. So if the average amount of miles you drive in a day is 35 you simply divide that number by 3.5. You get 10. Now multiply 10 by the kwh rate you pay for your electric service and this gives you your daily cost on the electricity service side. In our example the daily electric service cost is $1.50. Monthly your electric service cost for driving your electric vehicle is $45 a month.