charging the Tesla electric car

I've been keeping track of my mileage and running costs for fuel since I've had the electric car. 

Fascinating - I've had to become an anorak on pricing unit charges of electricity and their wild variations. 

I've travelled some 2,355 miles now and it's enough to gain an initial impression of the car and its range capabilities.

 

1) No range anxiety. It always adds an en-route stop if it thinks it will run dry and also predicts the remaining battery capacity to the end of the journey.

2) Several free charges - notably Westgate near Oxford and Tescos. And all Tesla Destination Chargers! https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/destination-charging

3) I always carry the spare Type 2 connector cable because often the free chargers are 'untethered' (ie don't have a connector) I also notice that many Tesla owners don't know how to charge from an 'ordinary' charge point and I've seen at least a dozen cars not charging because they've not been properly connected.

4) My practical full range is around 330 miles. Enough to get from Exeter to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Penrith or York. To Newcastle it is a one stop refill at Hilton Park Services near Birmingham.

5) Since I switched from British Gas to Octopus Intelligent, I have drastically reduced the cost of a recharge at home. A 0%-90% charge is £5.40 and a more typical 20%-90% charge is £3.78! That is much less than a tank of petrol or diesel. British Gas proved massively unhelpful (and expensive) whereas dealing with friendly and faultless Octopus exceeded my wildest expectations.

6) Octopus Intelligent works seamlessly with the Tesla App to manage the charging and to schedule it to the equivalent of 'Economy 7' times - although it will also spot other cheap periods in the day. I can also override the 'no charge' periods and get a charge at any time, if needed. from the Octopus App.

7) The convenience of the Tesla Supercharger helps justify the relatively expensive cost of a refill from one (albeit still cheaper than petrol). They charge at around 500 miles per hour. So a full charge is around half an hour. 

The Tesla car calculates how much it needs to get to the next destination, with a reserve safety factor. That is the most economical way to use the Supercharger, and some of the refill times are as little as 5 minutes. 

And there is that opportunity to experience the Tesla auto-park in reverse into the charging space.

If I go for a coffee, then a full refill might cost £20. But it is still much less than a gasoline top-up. And some of the refill stops (eg Holiday Inn) give discounts to Tesla drivers!

As we have a petrol car and had a diesel, I've shown comparative costs below. Both internal combustion engine cars can take £100 of fuel, but I've shown the scaled back costs to a range of 330 miles, which is the typical maximum I get from the Tesla.

 

The kWh capacity of my Tesla is actually higher than I've stated (82kWh), but I have set it to the more commonplace 72kWh.

 

By way of a comparison, the charge rates are roughly as follows:

• UK Household mains plug:  9-10 mph (never used - really for if stuck somewhere)
• Tesla Wall Charger: 32 mph (ie at home - and every day gives a full charge)
• Public Locations  32 mph
• Fast public chargers 50 mph (ie the 22kW chargers)
• Tesla Destination Charger 32 mph (free)
• Supermarkets 32 mph (sometimes free)
• Tesla Supercharger (150kW-250kW)  300-500+ mph   (great for long distance)

The only connectors I've used are the ones on Tesla chargers and the blue Type 2 cable I carry in the car.

 

And how realistic are the range estimates? For Tesla - driving in 'Chill Mode', I'd say -'very'. I assume if I was driving in 'Sport' I'd get (10%-20%?) less.

 

Tactically, when I've been visiting someone, I've stopped on the way to recharge to '80% full', so that I'm at their place with an almost 'full tank'.

 

I know, it is probably too much information. And your mileage may vary, as they say.