For those who can afford the decidedly upscale Tesla Model S, which includes unlimited access to the expanding Tesla Supercharger network, fuel savings turns out to be a big deal.
After all, switching to an electric vehicle adds some upfront costs, such as the vehicle itself, a home charging station, and access to pay-to-play public charging stations. Tesla Motors prides itself on the payback though, including the True Cost to Own [TCO] of the Tesla Model S on the build and order pages. Electric vehicles are indeed cheaper to own overall, especially when you throw in free charging for life on the Tesla Supercharger network.
The Tesla Supercharger network, which should cover the US and part of Canada by 2015, is only accessible by Tesla Model S owners [Sorry, Nissan Leaf!]. Tesla Model S access is free forever, and some of them are even solar-powered, which means they have absolutely zero emissions associated with them. Considering that each Tesla Supercharger station costs about $250,000 to deploy, how much has this investment by Tesla Motors paid off?
In other words, how much are all those Gallons of Light worth in terms that the driver of a conventional vehicle might understand? According to a recent statement, Tesla Model S owners have driven over 3.2 million miles on the Tesla Supercharger network, the equivalent of about 130,500 gallons of gasoline. Given that the average price of gasoline these days is $3.472/gal, Tesla Model S owners have saved more than $450,000 in fuel, roughly the equivalent of Tesla Motors giving away five Tesla Model S.
Taken another way, Tesla Model S owners, having driven better than three million miles on the Tesla Supercharger network, have prevented about 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from getting into the atmosphere.
Image © Tesla Motors
