Thread

1. cmiles8 · 1790590664 · focus · HN ↗

   Headline is misleading. Cheaper on per-mile operating costs but typically more expensive to purchase and insure. There’s also a nasty depreciation curve to contend with. Nobody wants a 10 year old Tesla, but a 10 year old well mentioned petrol car still has a ton of life left in it.

   It still often ends up a bit cheaper across comparable vehicles but not a slam dunk and nowhere near as good as the headline suggests.

   1. stinos · 1790591513 · focus · HN ↗

      Headline is misleading

      Honest question: how else would one interpret 'cheaper to drive', if not 'cheaper per-mile operating costs'? Wouldn't they have used plain 'cheaper than' if they would have meant 'purchase+operating'?

      1. cmiles8 · 1790591833 · focus · HN ↗

         Because driving includes a lot more costs than just fuel. And as others are calling out, nobody wants a used EV so deprecation is a real cost to every day regardless of if the car is driven or not.

         1. bryanlarsen · 1790603395 · focus · HN ↗

            A few years ago used EV's had a lot less depreciation than gasoline vehicles. Now it's the other way around. And in a few years it'll change again.

            Right now the lowest depreciation is on cars like the Honda Civic. Used buyers want a right sized highly reliable vehicle. The average EV is smaller than the average petrol car, and high mileage EV's are far more reliable than high mileage petrols.

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