Because it’s Saturday and I enjoy do this stuff, I decided to do my own price comparison between the two cars, and I’m doing it without reading the article.
Ingoing Assumptions:
Price (per Google):
Tesla 3: $35000
Camry SE: $26000
Miles Driven: 200,000
Battery Life (of Tesla): 120,000 miles
Engine/Trans Life (of Camry) : 250,000 miles
Maintenance Cost:
Tesla: 3 cents per mile
Camry: 5 cents per mile (higher due to engine/trans maintenance, and periodic replacement of battery, remaining items assumed a push)
Fuel/Electrical Cost:
Tesla: 3.5 cents per mile
Camry: 10 cents per mile
Battery Replacement Cost
Tesla: 1 time, $12,000 (I’ve seen 20k for the bigger models)
Camry: Not required
Residual Value after 200,000 miles: Assumed to be same for both, and not very much, so not included.
Totals:
TESLA
Purchase Cost: 35000
Maintenance Cost: 6000
Electricity Cost: 7000
Battery Cost: 12000
TOTAL, for TESLA: $60,000 (for 200,000 miles)
CAMRY
Purchase Cost: 26000
Maintenance cost: 10000
Fuel Cost: 20000
TOTAL, for CAMRY: $56,000 (for 200,000 miles)
So, a bit cheaper for the Camry, but closer than I expected.
I didn’t try to include the fact that people often have to bring their Tesla’s back to the dealer 10 times in the first year to try to get the bugs out, versus, maybe once for the Camry. I also didn’t try to include the opportunity cost of the time wasted plugging/unplugging the Tesla all the time, versus a few minutes at a gas pump. Nor did I try to include the time wasted on long trips waiting for the car to charge, or the cost of that charging (far more than charging at home if you want to charge quickly). Or the time spent on blogs bragging about one’s Tesla to justify its purchase, when that’s not needed for a Camry.
Tesla batteries have held up exceptionally well.
You may want to figure in a bit more battery life:
The Battery and Drive Unit in your vehicle are covered for a period of: Model S and Model X – 8 years (with the exception of the original 60 kWh battery manufactured before 2015, which is covered for a period of 8 years or 125,000 miles, whichever comes first).
Vehicle Warranty | Tesla
https://www.tesla.com/support/vehicle-warranty
I drive a Charger with 85k on it. I get 27-30 mpg. Most maintenance is tires and oil changes .. so far. 3 sets of tires= 2500, oil change my self= $30 x 16 ( every 5k) =480, Add in one more thing I did the spark plugs myself= $50,( dealer cost would have been $450) totals= $2500(tires) +$480(oil) +$ 50( sparkplugs+ intake gaskets) = $3030 dollars, I forgot to add 2 sets of brake pads, about $160
final costs, $3190 which is about 25 cents a mile in maintenance cost, + about 10 cents a mile in gas. so 35 cents a mile for a charger.
How do you spend 10K in maintenance costs at 200K? Stop letting your dealer pick your pocket.