How much does it cost to charge a Tesla? Home, Supercharger and per-mile costs

How much does it cost to charge a Tesla? At home, a full charge runs about $12 to $25 depending on the model, and everyday driving costs 4.4 to 7.8 cents a mile at the US average electricity price of 18.31 cents per kWh. Supercharging costs about 2.4 times as much per mile at the owner rate, and more than three times as much at the non-member rate.

Those averages hide a wide spread. A Model 3 owner in Louisiana pays about a seventh of what a Cybertruck owner in Hawaii pays for the same mileage. The rest of this page shows the arithmetic so you can plug in your own rate from your utility bill.

The formula behind every Tesla charging cost

Every home charging cost comes from one line:

Cost = kWh drawn from the wall × your price per kWh

You can get the kWh two ways:

• Per mile: miles driven × the car's kWh per mile. This is the better number for budgeting.
• Per charge: battery capacity you are refilling ÷ charging efficiency (about 0.9 on 240 V). This answers "what does a full charge cost?"

Your price per kWh is on your utility bill. Divide the total energy charges, including delivery, by the kWh used that month. That all-in rate is usually higher than the headline "supply" rate.

How much does it cost to charge a Tesla per mile?

The EPA rates each EV in kWh per 100 miles, measured at the wall outlet, so normal charging losses are already in the number. Multiply it by your rate and you have the cost to drive 100 miles. The table uses the EIA's US average residential price for July 2026, the latest month available as of October 2026: 18.31 cents per kWh, up 4.9% from a year earlier.

The Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck rows come from fueleconomy.gov ratings (MPGe converted at 33.7 kWh per gallon-equivalent). The Model S and Model X rows are our estimates from Tesla's Wall Connector table (11.5 kW divided by miles added per hour) and include charging losses. Treat them as approximate.

Owners of older cars can find trim-level efficiency on the year pages, for example the 2026 Model 3 and 2026 Tesla Model Y, or the 2025 Tesla Cybertruck for the heaviest Tesla.

What a full charge costs

For a single fill, start from battery size. Tesla does not publish usable capacity, so these use EV Database's approximate figures (European-spec cars; US packs may differ slightly), divided by 0.9 for Level 2 losses.

All three columns use the EIA's July 2026 residential averages (Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A). Hawaii was the most expensive state at 48.00 cents per kWh and Louisiana the cheapest at 12.72 cents, with Nevada (12.77) and Utah (13.12) close behind. State prices move every month, so check your own bill or the latest EIA table before you budget.

Hardly anyone fills from 0% to 100%, though. A typical refill from 20% to 80% on a Premium Model Y is 60% of 79 kWh, or 47.4 kWh in the battery. With losses that is 52.7 kWh from the wall, about $9.64 at the national average.

Supercharger pricing, and why it varies

Tesla bills Superchargers per kWh where state rules allow and per minute elsewhere, in four power tiers from 60 kW and below up to above 180 kW. Prices are dynamic by site, time of day and demand, and the rate is locked when you plug in. The car's map shows the price before you go.

As of October 2026, DCFC Tracker's survey of sites open to all EVs put the average peak price at about $0.434 per kWh at the member rate and $0.624 at the standard non-member rate. Tesla owners generally pay the lower owner price. By state, standard rates ran from about $0.41 in Nebraska to $0.84 in Hawaii. These are third-party averages, so treat them as a guide and check the in-car price.

Worked example, Model Y Premium, 10% to 80%:

• 70% of 79 kWh = 55.3 kWh delivered
• 55.3 × $0.434 = about $24 at the average owner rate
• 55.3 × $0.624 = about $34.50 at the non-member rate

On a per-mile basis, that Model Y costs about $10.89 per 100 miles at the owner rate, more than double the $4.60 at home.

Congestion fees. At busy sites, Tesla charges congestion fees, typically $0.50 per minute in the US and up to $1.00, once the battery is at or above 80% or the session has ended. You get a 5-minute grace period. Ten minutes parked at a full stall at $1.00 would add $5 to the stop, so unplugging around 80% avoids it.

Non-Tesla EV owners can buy a Supercharging Membership, $12.99 a month as reported by the same tracker, to get owner pricing.

Where you charge changes the price most

Destination charging at hotels is the cheapest away-from-home option when it is free, though the host decides. Public networks set their own prices; our guide on using non-Tesla chargers covers adapters and how each network bills.

Charging losses: the part your bill sees and the screen doesn't

The car's charging screen counts energy added to the battery. Your meter counts energy drawn from the wall. The gap is heat lost in the onboard charger, wiring and battery heating or cooling during the session. Studies summarized by Recurrent put the efficiency at:

• Level 1 (120 V): about 75 to 84%, so 16 to 25% lost
• Level 2 (240 V): about 89 to 95%, so 5 to 11% lost
• DC fast charging: about 85 to 93%

Level 1 loses more because the car's computers and pumps stay awake for the whole long session while only about 1.4 kW flows in.

Put a dollar figure on it. Storing 250 kWh a month (about 1,000 miles in a Model Y) at 90% efficiency on 240 V means buying 278 kWh. At 80% on a 120 V outlet you would buy 313 kWh. The 35 kWh difference is about $6.40 a month at 18.31 cents. Real money over years, but not enough on its own to justify a new circuit; convenience and speed are better reasons. If you do want to stay on 120 V, see our tips for charging on a standard 120 V outlet.

Tesla vs gas: cost per mile with the math shown

Gas prices swing by region and month, so we use an example assumption, not a current average: $3.50 per gallon in a car that gets 30 mpg. Swap in your local price.

• Gas car: $3.50 ÷ 30 mpg = 11.7 cents per mile
• Model Y Premium at home: 0.251 kWh × $0.1831 = 4.6 cents per mile
• Difference: 7.1 cents per mile

Over 12,000 miles a year:

• Gas: 12,000 × $0.1167 = $1,400
• Tesla at home: 12,000 × $0.0460 = $552
• Savings: about $848 a year

Flip it around: gas would need to fall to about $1.38 a gallon (4.6 cents × 30 mpg) for that 30 mpg car to match average home charging. In Hawaii, at 48.00 cents per kWh (July 2026), the Model Y's home cost rises to about 12 cents a mile, slightly more than the gas car in this example. And Supercharging at the average owner rate, about 10.9 cents a mile, costs roughly what that gas car does. The big savings belong to owners who charge at home.

Ways to lower the bill

Charge off-peak. Many utilities sell cheaper overnight power on time-of-use or EV plans. The Tesla app sets a default off-peak schedule for the Wall Connector, and the car can schedule charging too. Every 5 cents per kWh you shave off saves about $12.55 per 1,000 miles in a Model Y (251 kWh × $0.05).

Move off 120 V if you charge a lot. As above, the loss difference is a few dollars a month for a typical driver, more for high-mileage drivers.

Keep Supercharging for trips. At more than double the home price per mile, daily Supercharging erases most of the fuel savings.

Watch idle drain in hot or cold storage. Features like Sentry Mode use energy while parked. Our guide to Tesla vampire drain shows how much.

Don't count on federal credits for the charger. The 30C credit cannot be claimed for property placed in service after June 30, 2026. Some utilities still offer rebates; check yours before you hire an electrician.

What home charging costs to set up

Running costs are only half of it. A Gen 3 Wall Connector lists at $585 on the Tesla Shop, and Tesla estimates installation at $750 to $1,500 on a straightforward job, as of October 2026. Panel work pushes that higher; see our breakdown of home charger installation costs. A NEMA 14-50 outlet with a Mobile Connector is the main alternative and costs the same per kWh to run. Our 14-50 outlet vs hardwired charger comparison covers which suits your garage, and the charging speed guide shows how many miles each one adds per hour.

A quick home charging cost calculator

1. Find your all-in rate: total energy charges ÷ kWh on your last bill.
2. Find your car's kWh per mile: EPA kWh/100 mi ÷ 100 (or the figures above).
3. Multiply by monthly miles.

Example: 1,200 miles × 0.242 kWh (Model 3 Standard) × $0.22 = $63.89 a month. Change any of the three numbers and the answer follows.

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