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How Much Does It Cost to Charge a Tesla in 2026? Home vs. Supercharger Math

$15–$26for a full charge at home (US-average rates)
At the April 2026 US-average residential rate of 18.83¢/kWh (EIA), fully charging a Tesla costs about $15 for a Model 3 Standard up to $26 for a Cybertruck — roughly 4.6-8.2¢ per mile. The same charge at a Supercharger, at a typical ~$0.42/kWh, runs about $29-$52, or 9-16¢ per mile.

Every dollar figure below is computed from the same disclosed formula — no black box. Your actual cost scales directly with your local electricity rate: North Dakota averages about 12.4¢/kWh, Hawaii 46.6¢, so a "full tank" for a Model Y can genuinely range from about $11 to $44 at home.

Home electricity (US avg)
18.83¢/kWh
EIA, April 2026 — up 7.3% in a year
Supercharger (typical)
$0.30–0.45/kWh
per-site dynamic pricing; off-peak ~30-40% cheaper
Cheapest per mile
≈4.6¢/mi
Model 3 Standard / Premium RWD, charged at home
Typical monthly cost
$46–58
Model 3, 1,000-1,250 mi/month, home charging
Rates verified July 2026. Supercharger prices are set per site and per time of day in the Tesla app; the rate locks when you plug in.
Full 3D studio
The 2026 Tesla Model 3 at true real-world scale. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom.

Cost to charge every Tesla (2026)

ModelBattery*Home: full chargeSupercharger: full chargeHome ¢/mileSC ¢/mile
Model 3 Standard ~69.5 kWh $14.87 $29.19 4.6¢ 9.1¢
Model 3 Premium RWD ~78 kWh $16.69 $32.76 4.6¢ 9.0¢
Model 3 Premium AWD ~78 kWh $16.69 $32.76 4.8¢ 9.5¢
Model 3 Performance ~78 kWh $16.69 $32.76 5.4¢ 10.6¢
Model Y Standard RWD ~69.5 kWh $14.87 $29.19 4.6¢ 9.1¢
Model Y Standard AWD ~69.5 kWh $14.87 $29.19 5.1¢ 9.9¢
Model Y Premium RWD ~79 kWh $16.90 $33.18 4.7¢ 9.3¢
Model Y Premium AWD ~82 kWh $17.55 $34.44 5.4¢ 10.5¢
Model Y Performance ~82 kWh $17.55 $34.44 5.7¢ 11.3¢
Model S AWD ~96 kWh $20.54 $40.32 5.0¢ 9.8¢
Model S Plaid ~96 kWh $20.54 $40.32 5.6¢ 11.0¢
Model X AWD ~95 kWh $20.33 $39.90 5.8¢ 11.3¢
Model X Plaid ~95 kWh $20.33 $39.90 6.1¢ 11.9¢
Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD ~123 kWh $26.32 $51.66 8.1¢ 15.9¢
Cybertruck Premium AWD ~123 kWh $26.32 $51.66 8.1¢ 15.9¢
Cybertruck Cyberbeast ~123 kWh $26.32 $51.66 8.2¢ 16.1¢

Math: usable battery kWh ÷ 88% charging efficiency × 18.83¢/kWh at home (EIA US residential average), and battery kWh × $0.42/kWh at a Supercharger (typical national average — rates vary by site and time of day). ¢/mile uses each variant's EPA range. Full 0→100% shown; real sessions are usually 10-80%. *Tesla doesn't publish battery capacities — usable-capacity estimates from independent pack data.

Home vs Supercharger: the real gap

Home charging costs roughly 40-45% of Supercharger pricing per kWh at national averages — about 4.6-6¢ per mile for a Model 3/Y versus 9-13¢ at a Supercharger. The home figure includes the ~10-15% energy overhead of AC charging (the wall meter records more kWh than the battery stores); DC fast charging bills you for delivered energy. If your utility offers a time-of-use EV plan, overnight rates of 8-12¢/kWh can cut the home numbers in this table nearly in half.

Why we compute from usable battery capacity

Tesla doesn't publish battery capacities, so we use usable-capacity estimates from independent pack teardown and certification data (about 69.5 kWh for Standard trims, 78-82 kWh for Premium/Performance 3/Y, ~96 kWh for S/X and ~123 kWh for Cybertruck). Real-world sessions are also rarely 0→100%: a typical 10-80% Supercharger stop on a Model Y Premium RWD is about 55 kWh — call it $23 at $0.42/kWh.

Supercharging deals that change the math

Off-peak Supercharging (typically ~$0.25-0.35/kWh) beats the daytime rate by 10-20¢. Some inventory Model S/X purchases since April 2026 bundle lifetime free Supercharging via the Luxe Package — which makes the right column of our table $0 for those cars.

FAQ

How much does it cost to fully charge a Tesla Model Y at home?
About $15-18 at the April 2026 US-average rate of 18.83¢/kWh — a Model Y Premium RWD works out to roughly $16.90 including charging losses, or about 4.7¢ per mile against its 357-mile EPA range.

How much is a Supercharger session?
A typical 10-80% stop delivers 45-60 kWh on a Model 3/Y — about $19-25 at a typical $0.42/kWh. A full 0-100% equivalent would run $29-34 on a Model 3/Y, $40 on a Model S, and up to $52 on a Cybertruck.

Is charging a Tesla cheaper than gas?
At home, substantially: 4.6-6¢ per mile for a Model 3/Y versus roughly 12-15¢ per mile for a comparable 25-30 mpg gas car at mid-2026 pump prices. Relying mainly on Superchargers narrows that advantage to modest-or-none in high-rate regions — home charging is where the savings live.

What's the cost per mile of a Cybertruck?
The highest of any Tesla: about 8.1¢ per mile at home-average rates and roughly 16¢ per mile on Superchargers, a consequence of the ~123 kWh pack moving 6,600+ lbs.

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Sources & methodology: vehicle specs and prices come live from the AutoRooster spec database. Rates, charger powers and range figures verified July 2026 against: EIA — Electric Power Monthly (Apr 2026 avg residential rate) · Tesla — Supercharging · Tesla model pages (specs) · EPA fueleconomy.gov (ranges).