VicRoads timely reminded me that it’s time to renew my Tesla Model 3’s registration(rego), so it’s been a year already. I think it might be interesting to calculate the real cost of owning a (Tesla) EV. I also put imaginary figures of my previous diesel BMW there for an unfair comparison.
| Tesla Model 3 | Previous Diesel | |
| Rego | 745 | 745 |
| EV Tax(10404km) | 261 (1) | 0 |
| Fuel(18631km) (2) | 190 (3) | 2778 (4) |
| Maintenance | 0 (5) | 900 (6) |
| Insurance | 1400 | 1100 |
| Estimated Saving | 2927 | |
| Direct Carbon Emission | 0 | 4519kg |
Notes:
1, Victoria, Australia has the world leading tax for EV owners charged at 2.5c/km
2, Lower KMs last year due to lock downs
3, I only charged the car at home. This is the total household electricity cost. I have a decent solar power system and the power company used to pay me
4, Diesel cost calculated at $1.66/L, and a fuel economy at 9L/100KM
5, No engine oil to refill, no dirty oil filter to replace, etc…
6, Intermediate maintenance sampled at $600, major maintenance $1200. So $900 is an average per year
I only put direct carbon emission into the table because it’s very hard to compare the indirect carbon emissions, especially those figures for petrol/diesel cars which includes carbon emissions from oil rigs/off shore platforms/crude oil transportation/oil refinery/commercial fuel transportation, etc.
Also, thinking about wars and conflicts in history, fossil fuel was the reason sometimes because some region has it while some doesn’t. On the other hand, all countries have access to solar energy.
🙂