I’ve had a 2018 Tesla Model 3 for six years and mostly charged at public stations for the past five. I usually used Tesla Superchargers during the day (11 AM - 2 PM), not late at night, and the most I ever paid was around $16-$18 to charge from 20% to 80%.
Today, I tried an EV-Go fast charger because it was close in speed to a Tesla Supercharger, but I was shocked to see it cost me $34 at 9 AM for the same charge. That comes out to about 5.88 miles per dollar, which is like getting 17 MPG if I were using gas. Gas is under $3 here in Florida, so that’s rough.
Safe to say, I won’t be using that charger again.
Where have you guys found good charging spots with decent prices and speed? I’d rather not use Tesla Superchargers, but I have an adapter, so I will if needed.
Still love the car, and if $34 is just how it is now, then so be it… but I have a feeling I just picked the wrong place.
You can buy the Tesla adapter and sign up for their charging network to get lower rates. I think it’s around $20 a month? If you charge there often, it might be worth it.
FusionFrontier said:
You can buy the Tesla adapter and sign up for their charging network to get lower rates. I think it’s around $20 a month? If you charge there often, it might be worth it.
EV-Go prices here in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are over 60 cents per kWh. It’s crazy. I try to use EVConnect at 40 cents or Tesla at about the same price. I’d rather avoid Tesla, but I’m not paying 50% more just to prove a point.
I’m getting a home charger installed next Monday, so hopefully, I won’t have to deal with this anymore.
@Jonathan
If you’re in RI, be ready for a high electric bill when charging at home. I have two EVs and drive a lot, but my last bill was around $700. EV-Go is super expensive, Electrify America is more reasonable, but Tesla usually wins in cost (even if I don’t like using them).
Hendrix said:
Can you charge at home or at work? That’s almost always the cheapest option.
Yeah, home charging is the way to go. If solid-state batteries become common (and I’m just guessing here), even a standard 110V outlet might be enough for 500 miles overnight. Maybe in 5-10 years, but the first versions will probably cost over $100K.
@Rafael
Better batteries won’t magically give you 500 miles overnight unless they’re way lighter and way more efficient.
A 110V outlet only gives about 20 kWh in 16 hours. That’s a limit of the outlet, not the battery. To get 500 miles from that, you’d need 25 miles per kWh, which is just not realistic anytime soon.
@Julio
Might be a dumb question, but do you guys not have 3-phase outlets at home?
In Finland, it’s easy to install one, even in older houses. My place is from 1975, and I have 3x25A fuses, so I put in a 3x16A outlet. That gives me 11 kW charging, and if I upgraded my fuses, I could go up to 22 kW.
I know the US uses 3-phase for industrial stuff, but what about homes?
@Pace
No, not for homes. But we can install NEMA 14-50 outlets, which let us charge at 7 kW with a mobile connector. Or we can hardwire a wall connector for 11 kW charging.
It’s pretty easy to set up, especially if your breaker box is in the garage. So while we don’t have 3-phase, we do have good options that work fine for most people.