2024-01-20 17:36:46
The Tesla Model Y is undoubtedly the least original electric car of 2023, with sales figures never seen before for an electric car. After 30,000 kilometers traveled across Europe in one year, it is time to take stock of the total cost between charging at home and on the road, to see if we really benefit from being a big electric driver.
Tesla Model Y Propulsion // Source: Bob JOUY for Frandroid
The Tesla Model Y Propulsion no longer needs to be presented as we see it everywhere – it’s even the best-selling car in Europe in 2023, all energies combined! 2024 has barely started, and it will undoubtedly be another good year in France for the one that is still the cheapest Tesla.
The 2024 ecological bonus remains valid for the Model Y Propulsion manufactured in Berlin and, with a restyling arriving in the coming months, there is no doubt that many customers will turn to the electric SUV rather than the Model 3, deprived of bonuses until now. ‘at further notice.
Our Model Y is just a year old and has just passed the 30,000 km mark. We drove for four seasons, with consumption sometimes lenient, sometimes very high, the variability of temperatures and weather conditions putting all electric cars to the test. A first return after 10,000 kilometers was published at the beginning of summer 2023, focusing in particular on the experience and everything that involves setting a foot in the Tesla ecosystem.
In this file, we will take stock of the financial situation at the level of charges in particular, whether at home or while roaming, where there have been big changes in 2023. We will thus be able to check whether Tesla’s promises are kept when the brand announces significant savings compared to an equivalent thermal vehicle on its online configurator.
Charging at home is almost cheating
If it is not essential to have something to charge at home in 2024, we must admit that it is a comfort that we do not want to do without once it is acquired. Indeed, the network of public charging stations, whether fast with direct current or slower with alternating current, is now properly developed. This allows anyone with an electric car without the possibility of charging at home to still benefit from electric mobility.
However, with the right electricity subscription at home, it is clear that in addition to comfort, the financial aspect is simply unbeatable. In this case, for people charging their electric car at home, the EDF Tempo subscription can be compared to a cheat code to drive while paying less than 2 euros per 100 kilometers. Against more than 10 euros per 100 km in thermal.
Indeed, with the overwhelming majority of charges being made for 0.11 euros/kWh, it is difficult not to consider this offer as the ideal partner of an electric car. Only people who can charge for free elsewhere (free Supercharging or charging offered at the workplace) can do without it, for others, it is in almost all cases much more interesting than other offers on the market .
Tesla Superchargers are much cheaper
In 2023, fast charging has evolved significantly, both in terms of the number of terminals available and the price. In the summer of 2022, prices were very high for Tesla Superchargers, which often made long trips in a Tesla more expensive than in an equivalent thermal vehicle: the height of it!
Fortunately, Elon Musk’s firm knows how to adjust quickly, and after several price adjustments, we are at the start of 2024 with a price per kilowatt hour which is around 0.30 to 0.35 euros throughout France.
Two Tesla Model Y in Supercharging // Source: Bob JOUY for Frandroid
Compared to charging at home, it remains 3 times more expensive in the worst case, but if we compare to the regulated rate which is currently €0.23/kWh, Superchargers do not seem so expensive. In addition, when we compare the offers of other fast charging operators, Tesla is still the cheapest to date: Ionity, Totalenergies and Fastned are at €0.59/kWh, almost twice as expensive.
For Tesla drivers, there is only one benefit in favoring other charging operators: avoiding leaving the highway on certain roads. We’ve already explained why Superchargers are outside of service areas most of the time, but it’s something to keep in mind. To limit charging costs, you often have to get off the highway, which requires a few minutes of detours.
Charging for free becomes the exception
In 2024, we must accept to mourn what was initially common, then increasingly rare, namely free charging. Indeed, if some places managed to attract electric car drivers by offering to fill the battery for a few hours a few years ago, today it is an exception to find free chargers.
For Teslas, there is still a way to charge for free outside of home, thanks to sponsorship. When the sponsorship program was relaunched, the brand offered to convert its points for free Supercharging, allowing certain profiles to recharge for free.
Of course, this is not a general case, so we should not imagine that carving the road in a Tesla will be free for everyone. But even if you pay all the charges, what does it cost to drive 30,000 kilometers in a Tesla Model Y Propulsion?
2023 in figures: a paltry cost of use?
To cover these 30,000 kilometers in 2023, 6,000 kWh of all batteries were injected into the car. This therefore gives an average consumption of 20 kWh/100 kilometers, far from the initial promises. Indeed, Tesla announces WLTP consumption of 15.7 kWh/100 km for the Model Y Propulsion, but in our case, more than 25% more important.
The reason is quite trivial: long trips. A significant part of our journeys are on motorways at regulatory speeds, where consumption tends to soar. If you have an urban or peri-urban profile, consumption will be lower. Note that the car displays an average consumption of 17.8 kWh/100 km over these 30,000 km on the dashboard, but this does not take into account consumption when stationary or losses under load.
The Tesla app presents a breakdown of charges over a year, as you can see below, but it is largely incorrect. In fact, the average consumption of an equivalent thermal car is considered to be 9.43 l/100 kmwhich is undoubtedly overrated.
In any case, this allows you to highlight the paltry cost of using your Tesla, but you have to keep in mind that this is inaccurate. Third-party apps like Teslamate make it possible to track charges much more faithfully, in particular to differentiate fast charges from the rest.
The Tesla application report for 2023 // Source: Bob JOUY for Frandroid
Of the 6,000 kWh charged in 2023, half are fast charges on Superchargers and other terminals near highways, and the other half includes charges at work or at home using alternating current, as well as some opportunity charges during our travels.
In the end, we took advantage of the free Supercharging, which makes a personal assessment not very representative in terms of cost. To give realistic figures, we will consider that fast charges were at an average rate of €0.40/kWh, and slow charges at €0.15/kWh. This is a consistent approximation given current prices, which therefore gives 1,650 euros of charging expenses for 30,000 kilometers.
The cost per 100 km is then 5.5 euros on average, the equivalent of a gasoline car consuming just 3 liters of fuel per 100 km (at an average price of 1.80 €/liter). take in account the latest figures published by Ademethis amounts to saying that 30,000 kilometers traveled in this way in a Tesla Model Y costs as much as 13,000 kilometers in a gasoline car.
Note that this cost of 5.5 euros per 100 kilometers only concerns our use of the Model Y. For people charging the vast majority at home, it is easy to achieve less than 3 euros per 100 kilometers, which makes the financial interest of an electric car even greater.
Can the electric car quickly pay for itself?
In the SUV segment, the most popular thermal car to put in front of the Tesla Model Y Propulsion would be the Peugeot 3008, available in gasoline version from 33,560 euros at the time of writing these lines. Opposite, the cheapest Tesla is 37,990 euros including the ecological bonus, i.e. an additional cost of 4,430 euros on purchase. The WLTP consumption of the cheapest Peugeot 3008 is announced at 6.1 l/100 km, or €11/100 km with an average price of a liter of gasoline at €1.80/l.
Compared to our use – which is undoubtedly more expensive than that of the majority of Model Y owners – this amounts to saying that each kilometer costs twice as much in a Peugeot 3008. Thus, the purchase price gap will be closed in just over 80,000 kilometers, or well before 3 years at 30,000 km/year.
Of course, we could highlight the fact that the configurations, performances and options of the two vehicles are largely in favor of the Tesla Model Y, but even starting on this premise quite to the disadvantage of the Model Y a priori, the price of the 3008 becomes superior after three years.
For someone with a running cost of €3/100 km in Model Y, the curves intersect at 60,000 kilometerswhich corresponds more or less 6 years of average car use in France. Of course, all this has to be weighed against the real cost depending on the financing methods, but this is the reality if we only look at the list price.
In addition, the cost of maintaining a thermal car over 60,000 to 90,000 kilometers will logically be much higher, since on a Tesla, it is practically zero. There is no mandatory periodic maintenance to maintain the warranty, nor any frequent need to change fluids for example. Regardless, it is important to take into consideration the possible savings when going electric, but not to overestimate them.
Unfortunately, if the comparison between electric and thermal is often put forward, it is only relevant for the first electric car of a household which abandons a thermal car. The more time passes, the more people are not using their first electric car.
It would then be relevant to move on to another step, which would consist of highlighting the differences in consumption of electric cars, rather than simply displaying a CO2 rate of 0 g/km. And in this little game, the smallest cars could have a definite advantage, unlike SUVs weighing 2 tonnes and more.
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