AlanHarmon.net

What did it really cost to own my Model 3 after four years? You might be surprised.

4 Years Later

It is hard to believe I have owned my 2019 Telsa Model 3 for almost four years. I made this post title and I put three years, and it wasn't until I looked up the date and counted on my fingers (yes, really, fingers... sad) that it will be 4 years on 9/31/2023.

$51,218

My Total Cost after four years is $51,218 with 62,440 miles. This includes electricity charges, which happen to be provided for by my 5 solar panels that have a one time cost of $4,605 that supply my car with all the energy it needs on a continual basis. I will post a detailed analysis on that at some later date, but here is a quick summary.

Quick Summary of Solar Panel Charging

I bought 24 Solar Panels for my house in 2019. I upsized my panels adding 5 additional panels to proved the extra electricity to fully power my car on a continual basis. My 24 solar panels cost $22,106 after the Federal Tax Credit. Therefore, 5 solar panels cost $4,605. This is a one time cost, so I 'never' pay for electricity so that cost will never go up. When I go on trips, of course I pay for electricity, but that doesn't happen too often, and sometimes, such as my recent trip to Palm Springs, they have free charging units at the hotel.

Rebates Are Now Even Larger

If I were to buy my car now, the purchase price is about the same but the Rebates are much larger, so the total cost for a new buyer would actually be less.

Cost Per Mile

If I were to sell my car for let's be super conservative and say $21,218, then my total cost is $51,218 - $21,218 = $30,000 for four years and over 60,000 miles. The cost per mile right now is under fifty cents ($0.50) per mile, which is probably less than the car you are driving right now, and its a freakin' Tesla!

12 volt Battery Replacement

So, in May I learned that there was a 12 volt battery in my Tesla Model 3. My screen was giving me a warning that the battery was getting low. So I talked to my coworker with a 2018 Model 3, and he said he already replaced his, and all I had to do was schedule a service call for them to replace it - they come to your location, in my case work, and they replaced it for $120.24. So easy and good for about another 4 years.