Electric vehicles (EVs) can provide a wide range of advantages over internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, beyond environmental reasons. For one, the cost of charging up EVs is often significantly less than what you’d pay fueling up an ICE car at a gas station.
This fueling difference is particularly noticeable when comparing Teslas, which tend to be highly efficient, versus a big ICE vehicle, like a Chevorlet Silverado pickup truck.
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Granted, the comparisons are not apples to apples, since most Teslas are much smaller than Chevy Silverados, although the Tesla Cybertruck is closer in size. Still, Teslas get much better miles per gallon (MPG) equivalent, even when comparing the Cybertruck versus electric versions of the Chevy Silverado, according to federal data.
So, if you’re thinking about switching from a relatively inefficient car like an ICE Silverado to a Tesla, here’s what the fuel savings might look like.
Given that Teslas have better fuel economy than all versions of the Chevy Silverado, the more miles you drive, the starker the cost savings would be. But even if you drive an average amount — about 1,123 miles per month, according to Federal Highway Administration data — you’d still save a lot driving a Tesla usually.
Also, note that the vast majority of EV charging takes place at home, according to the International Energy Agency. While costs might be higher if you’re charging at public stations often, here’s what the average Tesla charging costs look like based on average residential electricity rates across the country, according to data from Tesla and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
|
Model |
Approximate Monthly Fueling Cost |
|
Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive, |
$49 |
|
Tesla Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive |
$54 |
|
Tesla Model S Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive |
$54 |
|
Tesla Model X Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive |
$64 |
In comparison, the most-efficient ICE version of a 2025 Silverado gets about 26 MPG. That means driving the U.S. average amount of miles per month requires about 43 gallons of gas. h uses nearly 47 gallons based on that 24 mpg average, and note that other Explorer models get even less per gallon.
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So, based on the national average gas price of $3.192 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, that means it costs over $137 per month to fuel up a Chevy Silverado.

