Tesla’s online configurator for its electric cars primarily shows a price that’s adjusted for incentives and estimated fuel savings. These savings vary depending on the vehicle being ordered, with the company listing estimated gas savings of $4,300 for the Model 3 and Model Y, $5,300 for the Model X, and $5,500 for the Model S. These may seem like optimistic estimates, but as it turns out, these figures are actually conservative, at least for the majority of the United States.
Tesla’s fuel savings estimate is based on the premise that charging an all-electric vehicle is a lot more affordable than filling up the tank of a petrol-powered car. Looking at the company’s estimates, it appears that the listed fuel savings for the Model S, 3, X, and Y are based on the assumption that drivers would drive their Tesla for 10,000 miles annually for a period of six years. The costs of charging a Tesla over this period is then compared to the estimated costs of refueling a comparable vehicle, such as a BMW, with premium gasoline.
This strategy actually makes sense, considering that the all-electric construction of a Tesla will likely allow the vehicle to be used for at least six years. The comparison with BMW’s vehicles is quite sound as well, seeing as both companies offer premium cars that perform and compete in the same segment. That being said, EV charging rate monitoring service Optiwatt noted in a recent report that Tesla’s estimated gas savings are a lot more nuanced than what the company’s online configurator would suggest.
If there is one area where Tesla could be faulted, it is in the way that its estimated fuel savings for the US are the same regardless of the state where the car is being purchased. Different states have different electricity and average fuel prices, which means that there are some places where Tesla drivers could save more than the company’s own estimates, and areas where the opposite will be accurate. Take Hawaii, for example. The state pays 32 cents per kWh of electricity, which is over three times higher than the 9 cents per kWh that are paid by residents in Oklahoma.
Fuel consumption varies across states as well, with drivers in rural areas consuming more petrol and drivers in high-density states like New York consuming less. Wyoming drivers buy the most gas per capita at 609 gallons per person per year, while New York purchases less than half at 292 gallons per person per year. Considering that Tesla’s fuel savings rely on the price discrepancy between electricity and gas, owners who drive more are more likely to meet the company’s fuel savings estimates compared to owners who drive less.
Optiwatt’s analysis notes that ultimately, there are some areas in the United States where owning a Tesla will save drivers far more than what the company’s estimates would suggest, and there are some areas where fuel savings will be underwhelming. Driving a Model Y in Rhode Island for 10,000 miles every year for six years will save owners about $4,235 in fuel costs, which is a bit less than the company’s $4,300 estimate. Driving the all-electric crossover in Wyoming for six years, on the other hand, will give owners fuel savings of $11,122, over two times the company’s estimates.
A look at Optiwatt’s data shows that Tesla’s newer vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y are more likely to meet the company’s fuel savings estimates, despite the Model S and Model X’s free Supercharging capabilities. Yet on average, across Tesla’s vehicle lineup, it appears that Americans can expect to save about $2,500 more than the company’s estimated savings over a six-year period. This bodes well for electric cars and their economic appeal as a whole. After all, a Tesla is not just designed to run for 6 years. With the company’s million-mile batteries poised to be released soon, Tesla drivers over the years will likely see even more fuel savings for every electric car purchase.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Sweden’s IF Metall union has announced that it is ending all protests against Tesla, effective immediately.
The union said in a statement this morning:
“There seems to be no limits to the length Tesla would go to keep unions out of their operations. Unfortunately, they have managed to pay their way out in Sweden. At least that has given the former IF Metall members more money in their pocket, but the insecurity of not having a union or a collective agreement still remains.”
IF Metall has been after Tesla in Sweden for the past three years, attempting to push unionized operations into its factories. Tesla, on the other hand, has given its employees the chance to unionize in various markets. However, the organization says that Tesla has “bought out all of its striking members.”
🚨 NEW: IF Metall has decided to end all industrial action against Tesla in Sweden, effective immediately.
“IF Metall has decided to end all industrial action against Tesla’s Swedish operations, after the company bought out all of its striking members. With no members remaining… pic.twitter.com/blne8iC6hV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 13, 2026
“Today, we end our industrial action against Tesla. We do so because it can no longer have an effect – not because our principles have changed,” a written statement said.
Over the past three years, IF Metall has definitely been a thorn in the side of Tesla and its operations in Sweden. The primary strike started in October 2023, when IF Metall members at Tesla’s Swedish Service Centers refused to work.
IF Metall chair to Elon Musk: “Give us a chance” as Tesla Sweden strike hits 2 years
Strikes extended to blockades and work stoppages at non-Tesla-owned repair shops that service Teslas. This limited and stopped anything related to warranties, transport damage, and other work on Teslas ending, eliminating work arounds for customers.
Sympathy strikes followed, as postal workers, dock workers, electricians, and other tradesmen stopped working. Add in lawsuits and other pressures, and you get the full scope of what strategies the union has used against Tesla over the past several years.
But now, it’s all over.
“We will continue to defend the right of workers to organize. We will continue to fight for collective bargaining. And we will continue to stand in solidarity with workers and trade unions facing similar challenges elsewhere – just as you have stood with us,” IF Metall said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that flying cars will be coming to the market, something that his own company has hinted at previously.
Musk said on X, in response to a post that read, “We were promised flying cars and all we got is infinite superintelligence for everyone,” “You will get flying cars.”
You will get flying cars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The post rang back to when Musk teased flying and hovering capabilities for the Tesla Roadster, the company’s supercar that has been delayed more times than anyone cares to count. It was set for an unveiling earlier this year, but it was then pushed back to August. There is still no sign of it coming.
However, that does not mean it won’t. But one of the biggest features of the Roadster that was teased was a SpaceX package that featured cold gas thrusters on the rear end that would help with white-knuckle acceleration. Another set would face the ground and would help the Roadster gain small bits of altitude, potentially helpful to jump over obstacles.
Elon Musk hints at Tesla Roadster’s “hovering” abilities in SpaceX package
But it is not a straightforward thing for Musk. As a serial entrepreneur, he tends to spend his time on major disruptors; currently, his largest projects are artificial intelligence and compute power, as well as SpaceX’s launches that will eventually make life multiplanetary.
In the past, he has been critical of flying cars and has been in favor of tunnels, one of the big reasons he started the Boring Company. In 2017 at a TED talk, he said:
“There is a challenge with flying cars in that they’ll be quite noisy. The wind force generated will be very high. Let’s just say that if something’s flying over your head, if there are a whole bunch of flying cars all over the place, that is not an anxiety-reducing situation…You’re thinking, ‘Did they service their hubcap? Or is it going to come off and guillotine me as they’re flying past?'”
However, he’s never been against them. He has also said he’s in favor of both tunnels and flying cars.
Contrary to press reports, I’m not against flying cars. Just said it was important to consider both pros and cons.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2015
Most recently, Musk said that anyone who wants a flying car should be able to get one. This was stated last October on the Joe Rogan Experience:
“My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars… I think if Peter wants a flying car, we should be able to buy one.”
Whether the Roadster will be Tesla’s flying car or potentially another one remains in the mind of Musk. Of course, the Roadster will have to make its way to production lines before we find out.
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Tesla wins three-year standoff against Sweden’s IF Metall union
