Not too long ago I purchased a plug-in hybrid vehicle because I wanted to try out how good the electric side of the car is. I loved it so much I decided to get a fully electric Tesla last year. I had the notion that driving a Tesla, an EV car, is going to give me so many benefits such as saving on gas, paying less on maintenance, and helping the environment. In my previous posting, I highlighted how much Tesla stock went up because of having better than expected earnings. There’s a reason for it. Let me describe my financial Tesla experience.

I love the fact that I don’t have to pay gas and just charge at home. I don’t have to go out of my way to stop by a gas station and fill up. I come home and plug the car in each night. I barely notice a difference in my electric bill. With that said, I estimate saving approximately $5000 per year not having to pay gas. I don’t have maintenace like oil changes or monitoring fluids like transmission and coolant so that saves me as well.

I noticed that my tires wear out quicker and I’ve heard of this from other owners. My tires will probably get me to 30,000 miles before I have to buy a new set. My gas cars used to get me 40,000 miles tire life so that’s about a 25% loss for me. So, I will have to pay for tires 25% earlier than I’m normally accustomed to.

Insurance…let me tell you about insurance. Out of all the cars I’ve owned, this car is by far the highest insured car I’ve had. It costs me 4 times my 2008 gas SUV car. I always knew that newer cars would cost more to insure than older cars but 4 times is unexpected. Assuming that repairing an all electric car costs more to repair and/or replace parts, that is causing the higher rate.

Charging network is outstanding. I have driven long distances without the worry of running out of electric power. The Tesla charging network is reliable and the system just knows when you need to recharge and where to recharge. With superchargers, the wait time isn’t that significant.

Tax credit is definitely a bonus. Receiving a $7500 tax credit as an incentive to go EV helps a lot with offsetting the costs if you qualify.

I don’t know if other EV cars are similar to my experience with Tesla. Am I financially better off with a Tesla compared to a gas car? Based on my experience, yes. It may not be a huge financial difference but the conveniences it provides does play a factor for your experience. If you are interested in following my journey and their journey, follow them on Instagram and email subscribe to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.