How much does it cost to charge a Tesla at a charging station

Tesla charging stations: A complete guide

The lower the charge on your battery when you Supercharge, the faster it will charge. Alternatively, the closer your Tesla's battery is to a full charge, the slower it will charge.

Pro tip: You can increase the speed of your charging by preconditioning the battery for Supercharging something your Tesla will automatically do if you've entered a Supercharger as a destination in your Tesla navigation. This essentially means that 10 to 20 minutes before Supercharging, it's getting the battery prepared to be at the optimal temperature for the most efficient DC charging.

Tesla Destination Charging

Tesla Destination Chargers are ideal for overnight stops as they're often located at hotels, restaurants, and parking garages. They're not as fast as Superchargers, and there aren't as many of them (approximately 4,500 are located across North America), but they are convenient when you're breaking up a road trip over multiple days or want to keep your Tesla charged for a weekend trip.

Tesla notes that Destination Charging can add up to 44 miles of range per hour, which will vary by the model, as with Supercharging. We recommend that you use Destination Charging for overnight charges/stops, though, or if you just want to top off a charge.

Pro tip: If you're counting on a Destination charger for an overnight charge and you anticipate your Tesla's charge will be low when you arrive, you may want to call your hotel ahead of time to confirm that the Destination Charger is functioning and ensure they've blocked it off. A common issue that Tesla and other electric car owners sometimes face is called "ICE-ing," which is when an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle parks in an EV charging spot, preventing you from charging.

How Much Does it Cost to Charge a Tesla?

With gas prices increasing, more and more people are considering electric vehicles. Those new to electric cars often wonder how much it costs to charge a Tesla, whether a Tesla Model 3, Model Y, S or X. While everyone is familiar with gas vehicles and roughly how much it costs to fill up a tank, with an electric vehicle like a Tesla, the terms and numbers may seem a bit foreign.

Tesla electric vehicles make it fast and easy to charge almost anywhere. If youre not familiar, heres how to charge a Tesla. In this article, well help you understand how much it costs to charge a Tesla at home or on the road. You can also apply this to most other electric vehicles as well!

Plus, to make it easy, theres also a simple Tesla Charging Cost calculator below if youd like to see what your costs might be.

Electric Vehicle Units of Energy

Lets start with the terms and units first. With a gas car, energy is expressed in gallons (of gas). With an electric vehicle, energy is expressed in watts (just like a light bulb). However, since a car uses so much energy its expressed in kilowatts or 1,000 watts. Here are the definitions:

• kW = Kilowatt, or 1,000 watts of power (speed of energy). This is the speed of which energy is used or made, just like a light bulb may use 100 watts of power at any instant. This is used when talking about how quickly a charging station can charge your car, for example.
• kWh = Kilowatt hour and is used to express energy amount (e.g. stored energy). This is often used to express a discrete unit of energy. So in the same way gas is expressed in volume, i.e. gallons, energy is expressed in time. This is used for storage (e.g. battery capacity) or energy efficiency (e.g. kWh per mile), same as gas with gallons.

How Much to Charge a Tesla in General?

In brief, it depends on the cost of electricity where you live (just like the fuel costs for gas), particularly when youre talking about home charging costs, but is much more standardized on the road when charging with the Tesla Supercharger network or third-party chargers.

When charging at home, it really depends on your location, but if you assume average electricity costs $0.13 per kWh for most homes and that youre charging a Tesla Model 3 Long Range (50 kWh battery), it would cost around $6.50 to fully charge a totally empty battery at home. Double that if you are charging a Tesla with a 100 kWh battery, the largest battery Tesla makes that is available on the Model X and S. In most cases, your battery wont be totally empty so it will be less than that to reach a full charge. You can test your Tesla model with the charging calculator below

On the road, its generally more expensive than charging at home, depending on your home rate, unless you have free Supercharging credits, of course. At most Tesla Supercharging stations in the US, the rate is $0.28 per kWh, or about double the average home rate, so around $14 or at a Supercharger, using the same assumptions as above. Note that Tesla does not make a profit on this, it only covers electricity rates and infrastructure costs.

There are lots of nuances here which well dig into below and you can play with the Tesla charging calculator for specific scenarios.

How Much Does It Cost to Charge a Tesla at Home?

Charging at home can be one of the least expensive ways to charge, but it really depends on where you live and when you charge. The cost of electricity varies widely across the United States. The national average cost for electricity is around $0.13 per kWh to charge at home, however, it can be as low as $0.09 in Washington, North Dakota, and Arkansas, while over $0.20 per kWh in places like California, Connecticut, or Massachusetts, and even as high as $0.34 in Hawaii!

Be sure to look at your electricity bill to find out how much you pay and then use the Tesla Charging Calculator below to see what your costs would look like (we also include state averages).

While you can simply plug in your Tesla at home with the included 110-volt adapter, that will take far too long to charge, youll likely want to use a fast charging 240-volt outlet or have an electrician install a wall connector (see How Long to Charge a Tesla for tips).

Tesla Home Charging Cost Example:

Lets say you live in California and your average cost per kWh is $0.20. Then filling up a Model 3 or Model Y Long Range with a 75 kWh battery pack from 10 kWh to 70 kWh (you usually dont fill up to 100% as that degrades the battery more quickly), would cost $12.00 (60 kWh x $0.20/kWh).

Tiers and Peak Hours

Keep in mind that many states and counties have tiered electricity rates (meaning you pay more or less over certain threshold amounts) and some also have peak hours where the pricing may be higher. In those cases, you can take advantage of Teslas scheduled charging feature that allows you to charge at home when its least expensive.

In addition, some utilities and states may offer EV discounts and tax credits to help offset costs and be sure to check into those, if they exist.

Solar Panels

For EV homeowners, many often consider solar panels to offset electricity costs even further. If you live in a state like California where electricity costs are high, this could make a big difference and allow any upfront solar costs to pay for itself relatively quickly.

Tesla Supercharger Costs While on the Road

How Much Does it Cost to Charge at a Tesla Supercharger?

One of the great advantages to owning a Tesla is the large Supercharger network available to owners who travel long distances.

Tesla has built over 4,000 Supercharger locations that allow owners to pull up and start charging without having to enter credit card information since it recognizes the car automatically.

Youll notice, in general, with charging that some areas have pricing by kWh (the most fair way) versus pricing by time. This is because regulations vary by location and some regions do not allow entities other than utilities to charge by kWh, so Tesla and other charging stations are required to charge by time (less ideal since each car may be able to take more or less power).

Supercharger station rates vary depending on the location, but heres the general breakdown:

• Per kWh Charging Most Supercharging locations charge per kWh.
  • Flat Rate: $0.28 (may vary)
• Time-Based Charging In some cases, Tesla is required to charge by time and in these cases based on how long you charge and the speed.
  • $ 0.26 per minute above 60 kW
  • $ 0.13per minute at or below 60 kW

Example Tesla Supercharger cost:

Lets say you have a Tesla vehicle with a 75 kWh battery pack (e.g. Model 3 or Model Y Long Range), and you have 10 kWh left when arriving at a standard flat-rate Supercharger and charge it up to 70 kWh. That 60 kWh charge will cost $16.80 (60 kWh x $0.28/kWh).

Of course, many owners also take advantage of free Supercharging upon the purchase of a new Tesla, which offsets some of these costs.

How Much Does it Cost to Charge at a Tesla Destination Charger?

Tesla encourages businesses such as hotels, Airbnbs and wineries to install destination chargers at their business to attract Tesla owners and provide a convenient EV service to their clients. These chargers are similar to home chargers but typically provide a bit more power.

Usually, the Destination Chargers are free to use for patrons, but sometimes charges apply, so be sure to ask the host.

Cost of Charging a Tesla at Public Chargers

While most of the time Tesla owners charge at home or at Tesla-specific chargers on the road, there are occasions when a Tesla owner may need to charge at a public charging station, such as Chargepoint, Electrify America, or EVgo. Theyll quickly find out its not as simple or fast as the Tesla Supercharger network, as they have different connectors, charge different amounts and dont usually have as many available charge ports per station as Tesla has.

Tesla includes a J1772 adapter for slower (AC) charging and sells a CHAdeMO adapter for faster (DC) charging, but does not currently have a CCS adapter, so youll need to be aware of that when searching for public charging stations (most of the time its not an issue).

To find public charging stations, download the ChargePoint or Plugshare apps (see below). Youll also need an account with ChargePoint, for example, to charge at those stations (ChargePoint has roaming agreements with EVgo and Electrify America, some of the largest charging networks).

Costs vary widely at these stations as many of the prices are set by the property owner and are sometimes a mix of per-minute charging, per-kWh charging, and flat-fees, etc. Be sure to check the apps ahead of time.

Download Third Party Charging Apps for Public Charging Stations

If you plan on charging on the road for a road trip, its handy to have an app pre-installed to find public charging stations. Plugshare is a fantastic app that has a massive database of charging stations, including Tesla Superchargers. Youll also want to download ChargePoint and set up an account so youre ready to go, as needed.

Tesla Charging Cost Calculator

Curious to know how much it costs, on average, to charge in your state at home versus a gas car? Use the Tesla charging cost calculator below.

Select a state to prefill your electric rate. Note that all fields are editable so you can adjust them as needed.

Other Considerations

Its also important to know that Tesla counts excess energy used while parking. For example, turning on the climate controls in an extremely hot or cold environment may add additional kWh to the energy billed for charging (e.g. 10 to 25 kWh).

Learn More

How Much Does It Cost To Charge A Tesla? (Easy Calculator)

With a bit of math, its dead easy to figure out how much does it cost to change a Tesla. Obviously, the charging cost of all Tesla Models (Model 3, Model S, Model Y, Model X, Cybertruck) depends primarily on electricity price per kWh (home charging is the cheapest, and Supercharger is the most expensive).

We are going to show you exactly (to a cent!) how much does it cost to charge any Tesla. On top of that, you can use Tesla Charging Cost Calculator yourself to estimate the cost automaticallyand consult 4 Tesla Charging Charts(full charge, supercharging, home charging, public station charging)further on.

Update: Due to absurdly high costs of electricity in 2022 and 2023, the cost to fully charge a Tesla Model 3 Long Range at home increased from $11.25 ($0.15/kWh prices) to over $20 (due to electricity prices spiking over $0.30/kWh), for example. Fully supercharging Model 3 Long Range can cost $37.50 in the US (about $0.50/kWh prices) and $45.00 in Europe (about $0.60 electricity prices).

Obviously, charging a Tesla is like charging any other big battery. There are only these 3 factors that you need to account for when calculating Tesla charging cost (these are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sliders in the calculator further on):

1. Battery Size (determined by Tesla model); 1st slider.Tesla Model 3 Standard Range, for example, has the smallest battery with a 50 kWh capacity. Model 3 Performance and Model Y have 75 kWh battery, Model S has a bigger 100 kWh battery, and Tesla Cybertruck has the biggest 200 kWh battery. These battery capacities will help us determine how much electricity does it take to charge a Tesla (specifically, how many kWh does it take to charge a Tesla).
2. Charging Percentage (0% to 100%); 2nd slider. As you know, you never charge a Tesla from 0% to 100%. Usually, you will charge it from 20% to 90%; this is a 70% charging percentage. Using the calculator below, you can estimate how much does it cost to fully charge a Tesla (100% charging percentage). You can use the 2nd slider to input a charging percentage anywhere from 0% to 100% to adequately estimate the charging cost.
3. Price Of Electricity ($0.05/kWh to $1.20/kWh); 3rd slider.How much does it cost to fill up a Tesla depends on the price of electricity per kWh. Electricity at home costs anywhere from $0.05 kWh to $0.40 kWh, and at public stations anywhere between $0.20 to $0.40. Of course, Superchargers electricity price is the highest (can even cross $0.50/kWh due to increasingly high electricity prices). Thats using a Supercharger is usually the most expensive way to change a Tesla.

To calculate the charging cost, we just use this Tesla charging cost equation:

Tesla Charging Cost = Battery Size (in kWh) Charging Percentage Price Of Electricity (in $/kWh) / 100

Example: How much does it cost to supercharge a Tesla Model 3 Performance from 10% to 90% at a $0.60/kWh Supercharger electricity cost? Simple. Model 3 Performance has a 75 kWh battery, we have 80% charging percentage, and a $0.60/kWh electricity price. Just insert the numbers in the equation like this (the calculator further on does this automatically):

Tesla Charging Cost (M3P, Supercharger) = 75 kWh 80% $0.60/kWh / 100 = $36.00 Per Charging (80%)

In short, we have to fill 80% of that 75 kWh battery; thats 60 kilowatt-hours of electricity. At $0.60/kWh, these 60 kWh of electricity will cost $36.00. That meanswill cost $36.00 to charge a Tesla in this example.

Using these 3 factors, we are going to look at how much does it cost to charge all Tesla cars (Model 3, Model Y, Model X, Model S, Cybertruck). We have calculated exactly:

• How much does it cost to fully charge a Tesla? That means charging from 0% to 100% (100% charging percentage).
• How much does it cost to supercharge a Tesla? This is Level 3 DC fast charging (480V and up to 150 kW). Here we deal with higher electricity prices, ranging from $0.40/kWh to $0.80/kWh.
• How much does it cost to charge Tesla at home? This is a Level 1 AC charging (110/120V or 220V and up to 3 kW). Here we deal with lower electricity prices, ranging from $0.05/kWh to $0.40/kWh.
• How much does it cost to charge Tesla at public charging stations? This is a Level 2 AC charging (220/240V and up to 11 kW). Here we deal with median electricity prices, ranging from $0.20/kWh to $0.40/kWh.

We have summarized all the charging costs in neat tables. You just look at the Tesla model and can read how much you will pay for charging a Tesla off the chart.

First of all, however, we will start this easy-to-use Tesla Charging Cost Calculator that you can use yourself:

Tesla Charging Cost Calculator

To calculate how much you will pay for charging a Tesla, insert the Tesla model (this is the #1 factor: Battery Size), charging percentage (this is the #2 factor: Charging Percentage), and the electricity price (this is the #3 factor: Price Of Electricity):

This calculator is dead easy to use. Heres just one example:

Lets say that you want to know how much it is to fully charge a Tesla Model S at Supercharger. In the 1st slider, choose Model S (100 kWh battery), slide the 2nd slider to 100 since we are charging from 0% to 100%, and you can use the average Supercharger electricity cost of about $0.50 in the 3rd slide.

You get the result: $50.00. This means it will cost $50.00 to fully supercharge a Tesla Model S (from 0% to 100%) at a $0.50 Supercharger electricity cost.

Lets look at how much will it cost to fully charge any Tesla at different electricity prices:

How Much Does It Cost To Fully Charge A Tesla? (+ Chart)

Full charge means that the charging percentage is 100% (from 0% to 100%). By having this constant, we can vary the other 2 factors (Battery size or Tesla model, and electricity prices) to see how many dollars does it take to fully charge a Tesla.

Here is the complete cost chart for charging any Tesla model from 0% to 100%. We also vary electricity prices from the lowest $0.05/kWh to the highest $0.80/kWh (with $0.05/kWh increases):

As you can see from the chart above:

• Fully charging Tesla Model 3 Standard Range costs anywhere from $2.50 to $40.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Model 3 Long Range costs anywhere from $3.75 to $60.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Model 3 Performance costs anywhere from $3.75 to $60.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Model S costs anywhere from $5.00 to $80.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Model Y costs anywhere from $3.75 to $60.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Model X costs anywhere from $5.00 to $80.00.
• Fully charging Tesla Cybertruck costs anywhere from $10.00 to $160.00.

The key factor here are, of course, electricity prices. With the electricity prices increasing, the cost of fully charging a Tesla also increases.

Practically, however, we never fully charge a Tesla from 0% to 100%. Realistically, we start charging at 5%, 10%, 15%, 25%, and so on, to 90% at Supercharges, at home, or at public electric vehicle charging stations. There are cost differences here because the price of electricity varies from Supercharger to charging at home and charging at a public station.

Lets have a look at realistic costs for charging a Tesla at these different charging stations:

How Much Does It Cost To Supercharge A Tesla?

Superchargers are the fastest way to charge a Tesla. They are also the most expensive way to charge a Tesla. Superchargers use a 3-phase current with 480 volts, 100+ amps, and the maximum charging power of 150 kW (the new V3 Supercharger can also achieve 250 kW power).

Currently, the Supercharger electricity prices are about $0.50/kWh in the United States and about $0.60/kWh in Europe (thats about 0.60 per kWh). You can check the current Supercharger electricity price on the Tesla website. In the Supercharger charging cost table below, we will use the median $50/kWh electricity price.

Here is how much it costs to use a Tesla Supercharger to fill all Tesla cars from X% to 90%:

As you can see, at current US Supercharger electricity costs ($0.50/kWh), you will:

• Pay $17.50 to charge Tesla Model 3 Standard Range from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 35 kWh).
• Pay $26.25to charge Tesla Model 3 Long Range from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 52.5 kWh).
• Pay $26.25to charge Tesla Model 3 Performancefrom 20% to 90% (thats the price for 52.5kWh).
• Pay $35.00 to charge Tesla Model S from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 70kWh).
• Pay $26.25to charge Tesla Model Y from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 52.5kWh).
• Pay $35.00to charge Tesla Model X from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 70 kWh).
• Pay $70.00 to charge Tesla Cybertruck from 20% to 90% (thats the price for 140 kWh).

These are Supercharger costs. The cheapest way to fill up a Tesla is by charging at home. Thats because the price of residential electricity is usually way lower than at Supercharger or a public charging station.

Lets have a look at how much it is to charge a Tesla at home:

How Much Does It Cost To Charge Tesla At Home?

The prices of residential electricity range from $0.05/kWh to up to $0.40/kWh in electricity-expensive states such as California.

We have calculated how much it costs to fully charge any Tesla car at home from 0% to 100% using these electricity prices:

As you can see, home charging will significantly reduce the cost of charging a Tesla.

In most cases, charging all Tesla models (with the exception of the Cybertruck, of course) will cost $20 or less when charging at home.

What about public EV charging stations? Lets look at those figures as well:

How Much Is It To Charge A Tesla At A Public Charging Station?

Public charging stations have prices of electricity ranging anywhere between $0.20/kWh to as high as $0.40/kWh. This is more than home charging but still less than supercharging.

In this electricity price range, here are the cost of charging a Tesla fully at a public charging station (from 0% to 100%):

As you can see, fully charging at public stations costs up to $30 to $40 for most Tesla cars.

All in all, we hope that you know understand how to calculate Tesla charging costs by yourself. You can use the Tesla Charging Cost Calculator above, or consult the 4 charts for fully charging, supercharging, home charging, and charging at public chargers. If you have any questions regarding the calculations or would like us to calculate how much it will cost to charge your Tesla, you can use the comments below and we will try to help you out as best we can.