This Tesla fan shared their 12-month electric bill, and it’s really not what you might think.
People who drive electric vehicles (EVs) have a certain amount of environmental bragging rights – but there are plenty of other reasons why it might be worth buying one.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is the most well-known EV brand on the market for a reason – and if you’re really canny, there are ways to basically avoid ever having to pay to charge your car, whether it’s a Model Y, Model 3 or a brand-new Cybertruck.
Step forward X (formerly known as Twitter) user @Tesla_GTownTX, whose affinity for Tesla is demonstrated right there in their username
First time i’ve had a bill within the last 12 months. this sucks.
They shared a screenshot today of what they say is the first time they’ve had to actually pay a bill to charge their Tesla in a whole year – and the total owed is pretty surprising.
The balance due is just $2.37 (£1.89) – rather than the hundreds of dollars you might assume it costs to charge your car regularly over a month.
If you take a look at their Twitter profile you can get a pretty big clue as to how they might have managed to only pay a few bucks to charge their car this year,.
Their cover photo shows a Tesla Powerwall – that’s a massive battery you can buy and loop into your home’s power to store charge, and it’s at its most useful when paired with solar panels, to create a potentially self-sufficient power loop.
This means your solar panels can power your home, but also store excess charge in your Powerwall, which can then use this charge to keep your car topped up when you plug it in.
The Washington Post / Contributor / Getty
It’s a bit of a dream scenario, but it requires a pretty high buy-in cost to set up, between the panels, the battery and the car itself.
There are still quite a lot of environmental factors that play into how well it works – @Tesla_GTownTX seems to be in the Texas area, which would normally get loads of sunshine to bank plenty of power, but the ongoing cold snap has probably slowed that to a trickle.
The X user jokingly captioned their post: “First time I’ve had a bill within the last 12 months. This sucks.” And people have replied with plenty of jokes – including the Tiger King meme, where Joe Exotic says: “I am never going to financially recover from this.”
One user replied: “That’s horrible. My condolences.” While another joked: “Damn my dude post a GoFund Me the community will rally around you I’m sure.”
Featured Image Credit: Kent Nishimura / Contributor/ Getty/ @Tesla_GTownTX/X
Tesla driver shares his costings for 6 months of electric and how much money it’s saved him on fuel
If you want to keep those bills down, you might want to go electric.
We’ve already seen one story going viral this week of a driver rightfully boasting about managing to avoid paying any money to charge their Tesla in nearly a year.
Now we’ve got another successful low-cost Tesla story emerging.
X (formerly known as Twitter) user Bilal Sattar has shared costings for the last six months, showing how much he paid to refuel on the roughly 10,000 miles he drove.
The total comes out at $573.55 (£452.26), a pretty paltry amount when compared to the estimated cost of fuel on a comparable car driving the same distance – a massive $2,392 (£1,886).
6 months and roughly 10k miles I’ve spent only $573 to charge. An equivalent gas car at $4/gallon would have cost roughly $2
The screenshots come directly from the Tesla app, which offers this handy comparison as a way of underlining the smart decision that all of its drivers have made by switching to electric.
It’s a canny idea, but it’s fair to say that even among EV driers Sattar has done very well to drive that distance at such a low cost.
Checking his Twitter feed for more clues, it’s clear that Sattar is canny with his destinations, and often picks stopping points that have free chargers (which are rare and often only act as pilots for new charging locations).
You have to go back to last October to find the real key to Sattar’s success, though – he shared an electric bill that shows he actually put wattage into the grid rather than taking it out.
There’s only really one way to do that for most people – solar panels. It looks a lot like Sattar also uses solar charging to offset his energy usage or even account for it completely.
My electricity bill was $ -55.88 last billing cycle. This is with 3 EVs and 5 residents 🤯
So, this is actually another case to underline how a home solar array can get you driving around at almost no cost at all, which should persuade plenty of people that they should add panels to their home if they can.
After all, if you got the chance to rack up 10,000 miles like Sattar and only have to pay $573 for it, you’d probably snap the hand off of whoever was making you the offer.
And there are other great examples of people using innovative ways to power things more effectively, like the Cybertruck owner who used their vehicle to work their coffee machine after freezing temperatures caused a power outage at home.
Additionally, if you’re a Cybertruck fan, read how drivers have managed to discover this hilarious Easter egg feature.
Featured Image Credit: @bilalsattar/ X
People have concerns after Tesla reveals monthly cost to lease Model 3 car
If you want to lease the new Model 3 in North America, you better have a whole chunk of change ready.
It’s no surprise that people pay premium for Tesla cars.
After all, Elon Musk’s buzzy electric vehicles are some of the most high tech on the roads.
Now, Tesla has released the cost for the upgraded Model 3, and it’s got people scratching their heads.
tesla_na/X
“Starting at $38,990. Lease from $329/month,” Tesla posted on X, formerly known as Twitter – and its website says these numbers exclude taxes and fees, with the price subject to change.
It was reposted on the subreddit r/teslamotors, and has been stirring up quite the conversation.
A lot of Redditors have been doing the maths, and leasing for $329 doesn’t necessarily seem worth it for everyone.
One person commented: “Total cost of the 2 year lease is roughly 15500. At that point just buy the car.”
And with the taxes and added fees, another suggested: “Lease for $474/month. That’s what it really is people.”
A lot are saying the same thing: that there’s no buy-back opportunity at the end of leasing a Tesla – causing one person to comment: “Why on Earth would someone get a lease with Tesla?” while another added: “Sometimes it makes sense for businesses and tax purposes.”
So what would you get if you did decide to buy or lease the upgraded Model 3? It’s only launching in North America, and promises ‘updated exterior styling optimized for max aerodynamics’.
The suspension has also been finetuned, and that along with a stiffer body gives a ‘more refined and relaxed ride quality’, Tesla says.
Tesla
The interior has been redesigned – particularly the various screens and sound system – and it’s being offered in two new colors, ultra red and stealth grey.
Teslas might be premium vehicles, but if you go all in – investing in a car as well as a Powerwall, the battery you can loop into your home power supply – you could, down the road, actually save yourself some cash.
At least, that’s what happened to one X user, who posted their first Tesla electric bill in 12 months on the social media site – clocking in at an astonishing $2.37.
It looks like they might have saved themselves a whole lot of money by pairing their Powerwall with solar panels – meaning the panels could power their home and also charge up their car.
Featured Image Credit: VCG / Contributor / NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty
Tesla is sending out texts to Cybertruck reservation holders with important message
If you’ve managed to reserve one of Elon Musk’s electric pickups, you might want to check your phone.
For many of us, Cybertrucks live on the internet.
After all, they only started being delivered to customers a month and a half ago, meaning there aren’t loads of Elon Musk’s electric pickups on the roads yet – plus, you’d be lucky if you’re able to afford the vehicle’s staggering prices.
So what if you hadn’t managed to yet see a Cybertruck IRL, but still wanted to check it out?
Anadolu / Contributor / Getty
Or what if you’ve managed to reserve a truck, but still have no idea what it actually looks like in person?
It looks like Tesla might be encouraging people to head down to dealerships to see the futuristic pickup for themselves.
Reddit user Xaxxus posted on the subreddit r/cybertruck: ‘Tesla is sending out text messages to come check out the Cybertruck display units in dealerships.’
They posted what looked to be a screenshot of a text message from Tesla, saying: ‘We wanted to share that the Tesla Cybertruck is now on display at Tesla Yorkdale.’
The catch? It looks like this Redditor received the message because they are ‘a reservation holder’ – meaning they’ve put down a deposit for a Cybertruck, and will receive one when it’s ready.
And it’s not just offering up the opportunity to see the divisive vehicle in the flesh.
Xaxxus/Reddit
The message also said: ‘Additionally, you can experience the Tesla powertrain with a demo drive in one of our other cars during your visit, which would also forgo the need to wait in line.’
The powertrain is essentially what gives the vehicle juice to propel it forward, and can be experienced in any Tesla model.
Its cars and trucks are powered by lithium ion cells – and at the moment, the Cybertruck is offered in three different drive configurations: rear-wheel drive with a single electric motor on the rear axle, all-wheel drive with two e-motors, and the most powerful option, a tri-motor all-wheel drive.
Some people have jumped into the Reddit comments to share their own experiences with seeing the Cybertruck at a dealership.
“I was there today. Windows up. Bed closed. Doors closed. Staff can’t even touch it. Tesla staffer said he was dying to sit in it. Looked cooler in person than in photos but it was kind of a lame experience considering people are driving them on the streets already,” one said.
But seeing the truck IRL has worked on some Redditors.
One person wrote: “I had an invite to order, went to see our local CT, then drove a demo X, and a week later went ahead and ordered the AWD FS [all-wheel drive foundation series].”
Featured Image Credit: Xaxxus/Reddit / @cybrtrkguy/X
Cybertruck owner uses vehicle to work their coffee machine after freezing temperatures cause power outage in home
No power? No problem.
Large parts of the Northern Hemisphere are going through a major cold snap right now, with temperatures plummeting and icy conditions all over the place.
Those unlucky enough to suffer power outages will likely be ruing the day they didn’t secure any kind of backup power – but you might be able to find help in unexpected places.
TikTok user konecteaze.com posted a video today demonstrating how they were able to use a Cybertruck’s power bank to plug in their coffee machine and get an everyday luxury – even though their local power was completely blown out.
“Freezing temperatures here in San Antonio, Texas have knocked out the power to our home, thankfully due to the awesome functionality of Tesla Cybertruck we were able to overcome the power outage and get our much-needed coffee,” konecteaze.com captioned the video.
The Cybertruck has a massive battery in it, after all, so like many utility vehicles you can use it to power up your gadgets.
Obviously, bigger appliances will drain it more quickly, but something small like the coffee maker likely won’t pose any issue.
People have already replied on social media to say they’ve done similar things with other EVs – proving it’s a really useful option when power does go down.
TikTok/ konecteaze.com
Some people might prefer to have a dedicated backup generator if they’ve got a particularly remote or sizeable property that they want to be able to fully power if the grid goes down, but if you’re more concerned about having power in a pinch, it’s pretty cool that your car can double up and tick that box too.
The Cybertruck has five different power outlets, with three in the truck’s bed and two in the cabin, so it offers plenty of options – and that’s not all it can manage.
If you install a Tesla Powerwall in your home (most likely in the garage) you can actually connect your Cybertruck to it and power your entire home until the truck runs out of juice.
The Powerwall is basically a massive battery that can act as a backup for your home and store electricity when it’s not needed – and it could become a way more common sight as people realize how useful it can be in adverse weather like this.
