Fact-Checking Tesla’s Latest Email Advertisement About EV Charging Costs vs. Fueling Up at a Station - So Many Apparent Factual Errors

When EVs were first launched, there were many goals and purported advantages to driving all-electric. One of those supposed advantages was that powering a vehicle with electricity would save drivers money - lots of money. Today, it is true that in some places, EV drivers save some money per mile on energy. However, it is also a fact that this is not universally true in the U.S., and the comparisons matter a lot. Let’s fact-check some of Tesla’s statements in its most recent advertisement. Here is a screenshot of what Tesla sent me.

Truth In Advertising Laws

According to the Federal Trade Commission,

When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence. The FTC enforces these truth-in-advertising laws, and it applies the same standards no matter where an ad appears – in newspapers and magazines, online, in the mail, or on billboards or buses.

Let's compare the Tesla advertising to some easy-to-find facts and see if it meets this standard.  

Factual Error 1 - The “National Average For Gasoline is $3.90/gallon”
In order not to blatantly violate truth in advertising laws, Tesla includes this caveat in its wild statement that it costs four times more to fill a fuel tank than fill up a Tesla: “..assuming the United States national average of $3.90 gas cost per gallon...”

AAA and Gas Buddy track the national average gasoline price daily. We took screenshots of the average national gas price on the day our Tesla advertisement popped up in our inbox. According to AAA, the national average was not $3.90 but $3.127.

GasBuddy pegged it at $3.102. Did Tesla intentionally misrepresent the national average price of gas? We cannot answer that. All we can do is present the evidence and let the reader decide.

The Tesla advertisement has an address for Tesla’s national headquarters. It’s located in Austin, Texas. We went to GasBuddy to see what the prices for gas were in that very neighborhood and found that they ranged from $2.39 to $2.45. It would have been easy for Tesla to use the gas prices that its employees see on their drive to work. But those prices are a third lower than Tesla opted to use for its advertisement. This seems suspect to us.

Given that Tesla emailed this advertisement to me specifically, Tesla presumably could have chosen the average price of gas in my state. It’s $2.95, according to AAA. However, in my Metro West Boston area, gas is running at $2.69/gallon right now. Move out of the city centers and prices are far lower. 

Factual Error 2 - “You can maximize your fuel savings by charging with lower-cost electricity during off-peak utility hours.”
Tesla’s advertisement also says, without any fine print, that I can maximize my fuel savings by charging off-peak. Factually, this is not true. Eversource does not offer off-peak charging rates in my Metro Boston service area. We have checked with Kyle J. Costa, Media Relations – Eastern MA Eversource Energy, on a regular basis. Mr. Costa confirmed for us that “Time-of-use rates are not available to residential customers.” 

Let’s Do Some Math - Cost Per Mile of a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs. Tesla Model Y
The intent of the advertisement that Tesla emailed me is to convince me that it is four times less expensive to power a Tesla than it is to power a vehicle that adds range at the pump. Let’s compare the top-selling all-electric crossover, the Tesla Model Y, and the top-selling hybrid-electric Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD. They are similar in size, close in price, and the RAV4 Hybrid uses a pump to add its range. Seems like a fair fight.

We’ll use the Model Y Long Range AWD as our example. It can travel 310 miles on its 85kW/h battery. My home’s electricity rate is $0.32/kWh. So the Model Y has a cost per mile of $0.088/mile. Or rounded up, this is nine cents per mile. 

The RAV4 Hybrid has a range of 565.5 miles, and a full tank of fuel in my area costs $39. So its cost/mile is $0.069/mile or rounded up, seven cents per mile. Therefore, the vehicle that adds its range at the pump has a 22% better cost per mile of energy than the battery-electric vehicle that adds its range from a plug. 

Your Costs Will Vary Depending On Your Location
If you live in a state that has very low electricity costs and very high fuel costs, you may well save money by switching to electricity. However, in the area in which I live, the advertisement that Tesla sent me is not just factually in error in two different ways, its underlying premise is also wrong. It is less expensive to power a vehicle at the pump than at home in my garage. 

Tell us if you receive Tesla advertisements by email. If you do, are they truthful and accurate based on your location?

Do you think automakers should be allowed to provide factually questionable information to consumers?

Related Story: EV Advocacy Publications Praise New Chinese Charger Capabilities, Calling Them “As Quick As Filling a Gas Car” - In Fact, They Are More Than 7 Times Slower

Image of Tesla charging on Emporia EV charger by John Goreham. Screenshot of Tesla email about charging costs by John Goreham - Information courtesy of Tesla, Inc. Screenshot shows AAA national gas prices as of 3-22-25. Screenshot shows GasBuddy national average of gas price March 22, 2025. Image of gas price on 3-22-25 in Lunenburg Mass by John Goreham.

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.