Many of you know we bought a Tesla last June. With gas prices continuing to rise, many of you are thinking about switching to electric. Here are some things to consider when considering an EV:
- The supercharger network is key if you plan to leave your bubble and travel. Tesla just doesn’t have any competition with regard to the supercharger network. EVgo’s fast chargers are 50kw/hour. Tesla’s fastest charger is 250kw/hour with most at 150kw/hour.
- The range isn’t really the range. So this is my one knock on my car. We don’t get the stated 329 mile range. Using the TezLab app, we average about 75% of that, which I found is really good.
- There is a supply shortage so be prepared to wait. With that, I’ve never had a used car sell for more than a new one, but what I can get for my car at places like Carmax right now is astonishing.
- Be prepared to save money. Tesla estimated the energy saving to be $4000 on my car over its life. I can tell you that it’s much more. We were spending over $400 a month on gas. Now we spend about $30 (for our other gas car). We also only use the superchargers when we travel and charge for free whenever possible. If I charge at home, I’m spending $0.08/kwh, which has not resulted in any substantial jump in my normal energy bill.
In the end, we love our Tesla. I would consider another EV if you could charge at Tesla’s superchargers (they say that’s coming) but for now it’s Tesla or no EV.