Man compares how much it costs to own a Tesla vs Toyota gas car over 10 years and there's a clear difference

This man has run the numbers on how much it costs to drive a Tesla for 10 years, and when he compared it to a Toyota gas car, he saw a clear difference.

It’s a question that’s often been asked by drivers – will switching to an EV prove to be cheaper in the long run?

Nicholas Morine, a writer at GoBankingRates, took a look at the figures to see how a Toyota Corolla fared against a Tesla Model 3.

What he found may convince several fence sitters to make up their minds.

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A Toyota Corolla versus a Tesla Model 3 over 10 years

For the sake of this comparison, Morine went off the assumption that a driver would rack up 12,000 miles a year (120,000 miles over a decade).

That seems like a pretty healthy figure, it’s certainly not the sky-high figures we’ve seen from other drivers, like the owner of this Mercedes 240 D.

Electricity costs 17.6 cents per kWh, while gasoline is $3.10 a gallon on average, according to figures from the EIA.

The stated fuel economy of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD came out a 26 kWh per 100 miles of range – 312,000kWh over 10 years of use.

That comes out at $5,497 for a decade.

In addition to other costs, including depreciation, maintenance, and insurance, that puts costs at around $55,714 over the 10 year period.

How does the Corolla fare by comparison?

Well, how does an extra $5,000 sound?

That’s right – the Corolla was estimated to cost $10,333 in gas over a decade, which equals out to $1,033 a year.

However, when it comes to overall costs, it comes in under Tesla at $52,218.

So there you have it – it’s closer than you might have initially thought.

While fuel was more expensive with a gas car, other costs that came with an EV nudged it up.

The eternal debate – gas cars or EVs

It’s something that will be talked about for years to come – which one costs more between a gas car and an EV?

There’s no surefire answer to this question, as a lot has to be taken into account.

But we have seen more EV drivers proclaiming their savings in recent years – particularly among those who drive Teslas.

One Model 3 owner broke down the figures and threw in insurance and maintenance for good measure.

And even then, there’s competition among EV drivers about which brands are kinder on the wallet, as demonstrated when this GMC Hummer owner compared his charging costs to a neighbor’s Tesla.

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