Two Questions on EVs

[kdonnel]

Based on some of the above comments I'm guessing that Tesla charging stations can on be used on Tesla's, is that correct? If that is the case it just doesn't make any sense to me, if this whole EV thing is going to work, we need to have universal charging stations that all EVs can use.

For the moment*

Many manufactures have recently announced a switch from CCS1 to NACS. Tesla superchargers V3 and V4 are NACS.

So in the very near future most cars will be able to use any V3 or V4 Tesla supercharger with an adapter or with later models, natively. The V1 and V2 superchargers will remain Tesla only. Teslas produced with NACS support can also use CCS1 with an adapter. Teslas made earlier than 2020 do not have NACS support and will remain limited to using only Tesla superchargers.

In theory GM and Ford EV will gain access to the V3 and V4 Tesla superchargers in February. Not sure if Tesla, GM, and Ford will really meet that announced date.

*There are a few Tesla supercharger stations currently that have what is known as a Magic Dock installed. This is an adapter that allows CCS1 cars to use the supercharger. For these few locations, CCS1 equipped cars can already charge at the supercharger using the built in adapter.

 

[kdonnel]

I do have a question for EV owners: how much does it cost you to get a full charge?

Home charging depends on your electric rate.

My car has a 91kWh battery. My electricity averages out to about $0.12 per kWh all in with fees and taxes in the summer. So a full charge would be $10.92. In the winter the average is more like $0.09 per kWh or $8.19 for a full charge.

I have kept a spreadsheet and found the total cost per mile for driving an EV with my rate plan to be $0.028 per mile. So just shy of 3 cents a mile.

Comparing that to gas, assuming an average cost of $3.20 a gallon and a 25 MPG car that works out to $0.128 per mile. Or 4.5 times more expensive.

ICE is really more than 4.5 times more expensive because of maintenance costs. The only maintenance costs for my car for the first 100,000 miles are tire rotations every 10,000 miles and a cabin air filter every 20,000 miles. I perform the cabin filter changes myself for $10 and get the tires rotate for free at a local repair shop.

DCFC is not as wide a difference in cost per mile between EV and ICE. DCFC is generally priced very close to the cost per mile of ICE. So the cost savings are reduced or eliminated if the EV driver is relying on DCFC.