Understanding Costs

Tessie provides many ways to look at your Tesla's costs. To easily understand them, we'll compare it to a gas car.

Charge costs

Charging costs are what the electric company will charge you. It's the equivalent of paying for gas at a gas station. These costs are shown under Charges.

For example: Imagine that you fill up your car for $50 at a gas station. This is your charging cost.

Drive costs

Driving costs are your charging costs that are later spent on the road. It's the equivalent of using gas while driving. These costs are shown under Drives.

For example: Imagine that you used up your $50 tank of gas in 5 similar drives. That means each drive cost $10. This is your driving cost.

Understanding electricity costs

Electric companies charge you for energy used. It's the equivalent of a gas station charging you for gas.

But the energy used is not the same thing as the energy added to the battery, because of power conversion efficiency loss.

For example: Imagine that you fill up your car for $50 at a gas station, but the hose has a leak in it. You’re charged for all the gas, but not all of it actually makes it to the car.

You will be charged for $50 in gas, but only 90% of it made it into the car due to the leak. This is your charging efficiency.

Normal wall outlets have the worst power efficiency — the biggest leak in the hose — while Superchargers and other fast DC chargers have effectively no loss.