Martin Blogs Recharging Costs

malcolm · 08-31-2008, 06:06 AM

Joseph · 08-31-2008, 09:14 PM

So EVs aren't as cheap as we thought they once were....oh well. Something to remember is that this is in California, where electricity is rather exepensive; in most parts of the nation, it should be cheaper.

doug · 09-04-2008, 01:59 PM

Tesla Death Watch 18: Eberhard Rethinks Running Costs | The Truth About Cars

graham · 09-04-2008, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Without solar panels, Eberhard calculates a Tesla Roadster costs PG&E users between two and six cents per mile (minus $102k msrp and insurance). His real world figure: about 3.6 cents per mile.

Who shells out $100 grand for an electric car, and does not decide somewhere during the life of the car to put up some solar panels? I would imagine the percentage of Roadster customers who have, or plan to have their own electricity generation capability is probably pretty high.

I appreciate Martin's work on the spreadsheet -- it is very cool! But most of the commentary I have seen about it on the 'Net focuses on the conclusions based upon a person only buying electricity from the grid. That is a good assumption for the Volt, but I am not sure it is for the Roadster.

I put up solar in anticipation of an electric car. What say you, other owners? Do you have or are you considering getting Solar (or wind etc.) to offset your Roadster?

Edit: especially those owners in California where Martin's spreadsheet was focused.

lorencc · 09-04-2008, 03:14 PM

I'm planning to install a 3-4 Kw solar carport to offset (and shade) my car.

I live in West Marin and our grid tie is California PG&E with its multi-tiered rates.

Adding an electric car on top of what we use now would cost us > $0.30/KWh.

But fortunately we also have a lot of sun...

jsnable · 09-04-2008, 05:18 PM

I self-installed a 3kW system 3 years ago in anticipation of an EV too... May double that at some point when it makes sense.

Jay

SByer · 09-04-2008, 08:01 PM

Plan? Absolutely! Our electric bills are crazy (pool plus tropical fish tank).

The trick for me is waiting for >20% efficiency panels that are aesthetically pleasing (our roof is a 12-pitch (!) with lots of strange segments - diagonal panels will be a must) that don't cost the same as the car.

Interesting enough, working for one of the greenest companies in the valley, I'll be able to charge up at work for at least a while, which is nice, but I do want to end up powering it from a solar system.