US man drives Tesla Model 3 117,000 miles then when he breaks down fuel savings he has a staggering brainwave
Published on Nov 11, 2026 at 6:55 AM (UTC-5)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Nov 11, 2026 at 6:55 AM (UTC-5)
Edited by
Mason Jones
After driving this Tesla Model 3 for 117,000 miles, this American man ran the numbers on how much money he’d saved from not paying for gas.
Austin Ammarell shared his findings on the Mileage Impossible Facebook group, where he had a ‘staggering brainwave’.
He’d saved an awful lot of money in the time that he’d been a Tesla owner.
Just how much had he saved? That’s the part that will shock you.
EV owners are talking about their savings
In the never-ending debate over EVs and gas cars, one theme consistently comes up – cost.
EV drivers haven’t been shy about trumpeting their savings all over the internet.
For one Model 3 owner, his gas savings amounted to around $1,137 over a four year period, while another Model 3 owner had saved $7,700 by 100,000 miles.
Those are some impressive figures for sure – could anyone top them?
This Tesla Model 3 owner opened up about his fuel savings
Posted in the Mileage Impossible Facebook group, Austin Ammarell detailed how many miles he had driven his Tesla Model 3 and how much he’d saved during that time.
He’d purchased the car second-hand, paying just $17,000 for it.
Since then, he’d racked up 117,000 miles in the EV.
That came to 217,681 miles in total.
He said for depreciation it was $7,000 over 117,000 miles, which equalled six cents/mile.
The tires were tires 1.2 cents/mile, with a 100k mile tread life, and they cost $1,200 to install.
Over the time period, repairs were 0.3 cents/mile with a charge of roughly 2.9 cents/mile.
This is what led to the staggering brainwave.
What was the brainwave this Tesla Model 3 owner had?
Ammarell had spent around 10 cents per mile while owning the Model 3, which was considerably cheaper than his previous pickup truck, which had cost him 20.6 cents per mile.
That’s fuel savings of roughly $20,706.
This is what had dawned on him – the car had effectively paid for itself.
He did stress that 117,000 miles over 2.5 years wasn’t representative of the average driver.
Even compared to a hybrid like a Toyota Prius, he estimated that he’d saved around $3,000.
You can’t argue with those figures.
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Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
