These charts show how much it costs to charge an EV vs. refueling a gas vehicle

CNBC.com ^ | 3/20/2022 | John Rosevear

[Kid Shelleen]

If you think gas lines are going to be bad wait until you see the lines for charging batteries.

[PGR88]

Electricity costs, for the most part, are highly regulated. It will still rise in cost, and those increases will be permanent

[suijuris]

Re: only if one does not factor in the costs of generating the volts.

It is worse than that. Lets say the average battery replacement costs after a 7 year life span is $15,000. That is an additional average costs per year of $2,100. We haven't gotten to the part about the pollution caused by manufacturing the batteries.

[Lakewood]

It would be interesting to know the time it takes to charge the battery for that extra 100 miles versus the 5 minutes or so it takes to pump 4 gallons of gas.

I know you said you do it off hours but it would be interesting to know.

[BiglyCommentary]

20 to 25 cents. I’d be biting a cyanide capsule if I had to pay that.

[libertylover]

Someone remind me, is the US media trustworthy?

See Tagline for answer.

[Chode]

charging stations pay road tax just like ice cars?

[adorno]

It has been true for years: Mile for mile, it’s cheaper — generally much cheaper — to recharge an electric vehicle than it is to refuel one with an internal-combustion engine.

Completely false!!!

While it might seem true, at first sight or at first thought, the complete picture says different.

An ICE vehicle has a fuel tank, where fuel is kept for consumption by the vehicle. Buy the tank ONCE (it comes with the vehicle), and you never have to buy another one for the life of the car.

An electric vehicle comes with a battery, and the fuel is the electric charge, which last for only about 200 miles per 'filling'.

But, one has to consider that the "fuel" for the electric vehicle includes the battery, which adds a huge cost to the initial purchase of the vehicle. So, if one were to consider that the cost for the 'fuel' for the electric vehicle includes the battery and battery charges (plus installation of a charging station at home), then, over 10 years time, the electric vehicle will have cost a lot more to 'fuel up' than a gasoline or diesel vehicle.

An electric vehicles initial price could be an additional $10,000 to $30,000 to purchase because of the battery, compared to a comparably equipped ICE vehicle. Can somebody say that, over 10 years' time that the additional cost of the battery + eventual charges, will have cost less than an ICE vehicles' costs?

Comparing charging an EV to fueling an ICE car, is totally out of balance and bogus. Even with the current higher fuel costs, it may still be advantageous to get an ICE vehicle. The only reason that is given as an 'advantage' is the saving of the planet from fossil-fuel climate change. But that's a complete hoax unto itself.

[dblshot]

Yes and my time is worth something too. Time to fill a gas tank vs: time to charge is a consideration.

[Antoninus]

"A car powered by my own sense of self-satisfaction."

[Pelham]

I’ve got five friends who drive Teslas. They tell me that their equivalent energy cost is running as low as a 1/4 of what gasoline would be running them. In my part of SoCal regular gas is $5.60 to $6.00. Apparently their cars include a calculator if they want to figure this out.

Two of these drivers had 2014 Model S’s. One still had 80% battery capacity when he traded it in for a 2021. The other crashed his 2014 before replacing it and he never mentioned what percentage his old battery still had.

[bobonthejob]

I was wondering the same thing. The article lacks necessary details about the facts to have any meaning.

[Obadiah]

Again, deliberately, no one is talking about the massive capital infrastructure costs that will be required for demand side management. No one is talking about all the high voltage towers and lines that will be required to criss-cross the country and be put in YOUR neighborhood. Your property value will drop. The cost of electricity will skyrocket, probably way beyond imagination.

And, you had better hope there is no disruption to the grid, such as storms, an errant squirrel running across a wire, or a deliberate hack or attack.

[fruser1]

“battery capacity”

That sounds like the wrong calculation.

You’d need to know the amount of electricity used to get to that battery capacity.

There is always loss.

You’d basically have to turn off everything but your garage outlets from the breaker box and check the kWhr difference is on your meter, before and after charging.

[Pelham]

Except for owners of 2013 and 2014 Teslas. They pay nothing to charge at Tesla stations.

Fast charging is hard on the batteries. They’re better off only using those when necessary.

[ConservativeInPA]

It's called TCO, total cost ownership. What is most hideous about EVs is that they are subsidized by tax dollars that do not exist. The same thing is true about charging stations that are included in the so-called infrastructure bill. That means the Fed has to print money. In turn, everything is more expensive.

Personally, I have no problems with alternative energy and specifically EVs, but it is not the government's job or the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for it.

[Gnome1949]

The manufacturers will not have huge warehouses full of spare batteries. When your EV battery needs to be replaced, you will have a VERY LONG WAIT to get a new one.

Further, the dealers won’t want EV’s with dead batteries stored behind their dealerships for long periods.

Your “dead” EV will have to be stored somewhere and it will have to be towed to that location and then towed to a dealer when your replacement battery arrives.

Cities, counties and states will no doubt charge BIG disposal fees for getting rid of dead batteries that contain toxic chemicals.

Also, cities and counties will almost certainly pass strict laws about long-term storage of bad EV batteries/cars awaiting replacement.

[Fido969]

Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

The reason gas car costs more than electricity is because of the spike in gas prices. At $2 a gallon, gas is competitive with electric cars.

Now, with the spike in gas prices, these people say “EV is cheaper!” But riddle me this Batman - when fuel prices go up, what happens to electricity prices?

This is largely an illusion caused by the lag in adjusting utility rates.

[Pelham]

“Absolutely. In California they have already asked residents to avoid charging your electric vehicle amid power grid strain...”

That’s not due to EVs. It’s because the idiots in charge of this state are climate change zealots. They have even been shutting down our nuke plants which aren’t emitting any carbon.

[sauropod]

Natural gas is pretty darned abundant.

Just ask the frackers.