Lifestyle
EV Basics – What’s a kilowatt hour?
So what’s a kilowatt hour or shall we ask Watts a Kilowatt hour?
As more car buyers take the plunge into owning an electric vehicle (EV), it’s important to educate on the EV specific units of measure which differ greatly than your traditional gas burning vehicle. What is a kilowatt hour? How does it differ from a kilowatt? And why does this even matter?
Background
First, let me preface everything by saying that much of what I’m about to write is based on US specific units of measure since that’s what I’m familiar with. For instance, miles vs km and US dollars versus Euros. I’m also over simplifying and breaking things down to basic laymen terms so please cut me some slack if you already know all this!
If you receive a utility bill for your residence then you should probably be somewhat familiar with, or have heard of, a kilowatt (kW) and kilowatt hours (kWh) since that’s what electricity bills are measured on. Your EV is no different and uses these same units of measure although it’s probably something you haven’t paid much attention to in the past.
kW and kWh Units
Depending on the EV display you may see watt hours (Wh) or kilowatt hours (kWh) in some places and watts (W) and kilowatts (kW) in others. The kilo or k is a standard prefix meaning a thousand. So 1 kWh is 1,000 Wh. If you own your EV long enough you may just get to the next level, megawatt hour (MWh) which would be one million Wh!
Now for the fundamental definitions:
kW is a measurement of power and kWh is a measurement of energy.
Energy is the amount of work that can be performed. kWh, calories, joules are all units of energy. A slice of pizza has 285 calories which is 0.33 Wh of energy that can be derived from that substance. Energy can be converted and change in form. For instance we can convert that slice of pizza to heat by setting it on fire. The fuel is the pizza, but don’t try converting it in your EV!
Power is the rate at which energy is generated or used. kW is a unit of power. When you accelerate in your EV you’re using power and when you decelerate with regenerative braking you’re generating power. The Model S dedicates half the speedometer display to the unit of power on the right side. There you can see how many kW you are using (indicator is orange) or generating (indicator is green) at any instance in time. It’s great to be able to see this however you can’t easily convert this into a cost. In order to do that, you’ll need to measure it over time and convert it into a unit of energy.
Power is similar to your speed. 50mph is your speed, but you have to maintain that for an hour to travel 50 miles. Similarly, 40kW is how much power you’re using and you’ll have to maintain that consumption for one hour to use 40kWh. If you spend half that hour at 40kW and the other half at 20kW you’ll end up consuming 30kWh. Power usage is constantly changing and will depend on driving habit as well as usage of onboard amenities such as your seat heaters or A/C unit.
A 100W incandescent light bulb used over 1 hour will consume 100Wh of energy. If you use that 100W bulb for 8 hours every day, it will consume 800W or 0.8 kWh per day. After 30 days, it will have consumed 0.8kWh x 30 = 24 kWh. After 365 days it will have consumed 292 kWh. Measuring your EV is done in a similar fashion but keep in mind that an EV can both use and generate power (regenerative braking) over periods of time. The difference or net power used (used – generated) is what you see reported on your EV display.
Units for Charging
Charging your EV you transfers energy back into your battery so you’re effectively storing kWh for later use. EVs report charging in different ways but the most common is to report by kW and kWh added. So a charge rate of 6 kW is storing 6kWh for every hour of charge. If you’re charging at 6kWh and charge for 2 hours you’ll have an extra 12kWh added at the end of your charge.
When it comes to driving, we’re trained to think in terms of miles, but not all miles travelled are the same when it comes to energy usage since there are variations in terrain and elevations. Weather also plays a factor for each mile travelled. A kWh stored, on the other hand, is always the same. The main difference is how you use that kWh.
The Model S offers the option to display charge rate by kW and kWh or by miles. Not surprisingly most Tesla owners choose to display charge rate in terms of miles. However it’s important to note that there’s a huge assumption being made about how many miles you can drive on a Wh and that assumption needs to account for charging efficiency. Tesla uses their proprietary algorithm to compute this value.
On Tesla’s online calculator they assume 300Wh/mile average use and a 90% charging efficiency. My own measurements show the average Wh/mile usage to be a bit higher (306 lifetime average) and the charging efficiency to be slightly less (81% last month).
What about Volts vs Amps?
Now you may be wondering how all this relates to volts and amps. This gets us back to the basics. One can calculate watts by multiplying volts with amps. W = V x A. So if you’re at a public charger and it’s charging at 199V and 30A (reference picture above), you’re essentially charging at 199V x 30A = 5,970W or about 6kW. This equates to 6kWh added after an hour of charging, but as we all know this is based on an ideal world where it charges at 100% efficiency with no loss. At 199V and 30A, the Model S is reporting this as a rate of 16 mi/hr.
Lets check that math:
5,970W/300Wh/mile standard assumption = theoretical 20 miles/hr charge rate. But that doesn’t account for charging efficiency. The Model S is reporting 16 mi/hr so its assuming an 80% charging efficiency (16/20) under these conditions.
Cost
Utility bills price per kWh. Your electric company may break it down by distribution vs generation, time of use, etc. and then associate a different cost per kWh on each pricing tier. It seems complex but you can simplify this.
To figure out your total cost per kWh just take your total amount of the bill and divide it by your total energy usage for the same period. That may include the various service fees, taxes, etc. but in the end you’re paying the electric company that total amount for those kWh regardless of what it’s derived from. Knowing this will help you calculate the costs for your road trips based on the kWh used.
Summary
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase
The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
SpaceX to become America’s Military data backbone for missiles, drones, and warfighters
Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory construction officially underway at Giga Texas
