I read a “fuel” cost comparison article for the Tesla Model S and the BMW 7 series the other day [1]. The comparison was made using California prices for electricity and gas. I was curious to do the Icelandic version of the comparison since electricity is cheaper and gas is more expensive in Iceland than in California.

Image by Motortrend

The article, which was posted on Edmunds a while ago, provides results of driving both the Tesla Model S and the BMW 7 around 23,000 miles each (36.800 km). That’s roughly 2 years worth of driving, compared to normal standards (12,000 miles per year). Here are the driving results for both cars.

Electricity efficiency for Tesla: 3 miles/kWh (i.e. 4.8km/kWh)

Fuel efficiency of the BMW 7 Series: 19 mpg (i.e. 12.4 litres/100km)

So, lets do the electricity vs gas comparison for California and Iceland.

Electricity

Average cost of electricity in California: 16 cents per kWh.

Average cost of electricity in Iceland: 5 cents per kWh.

Gas

Average cost of premium gas per liter in California in 2015: $1,05

Average cost of gas per liter in Iceland in 2015: $1,63

These numbers bring us to the following conclusion.

California (from the Edmunds article)

Cost of electricity to drive the Tesla 23,000 miles: $1,226

Cost of premium gas to drive BMW 7 Series 23,000 miles: $4,951

Money saved on fuel by driving Tesla: $3,724

Iceland

Cost of electricity to drive the Tesla 23,000 miles: $383

Cost of gas to drive BMW 7 Series 23,000 miles: $7,469

Money saved on fuel by driving Tesla: $7,086

Well, isn’t that something.

Summary

It’s roughly 20 times cheaper to ride a Tesla Model S than a BMW 7 here in Iceland when it comes to “fuel” costs. Tesla owners pay around $190 per year on electricity consumption, as opposed to over $3,700 in gas on the BMW 7.

Driving electric cars in Iceland is very favorable when it comes to electricity consumption (e.g. over 3 times cheaper than in California). Gas is also over 50% more expensive in Iceland than in California.

There are many other reasons why you should buy a Tesla besides the “fuel” costs. The Tesla Model S is the safest car ever tested [2], with usable range, serious power, and wrapped in a luxury package [3]. In general, the age of the electric car is upon us and sooner than we think [4].

Vignir.

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[1] http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2013/long-term-road-test/2013-tesla-model-s-cost-of-gas-vs-electricity.html

[2] http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tesla-model-s-achieves-best-safety-rating-any-car-ever-tested

[3] http://www.teslamotors.com/models

[4] http://blog.geoffralston.com/the-electric-car