Charging a 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD at home in California

A 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD draws 24.3 kWh per 100 miles per the EPA; at California's 33.17¢/kWh residential rate that's $8.06 per 100 miles charged at home, versus $16.02 for a 25.5-mpg gas car covering the same distance. That works out to 49.7% cheaper per mile than gasoline in California — charging at home is much cheaper than gas here.

What a year of driving costs

California owners putting 15,000 annual miles on a 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD spend about $1,209 on home electricity, compared to about $2,403 a gas-car equivalent would spend on fuel. Call it about $1,194 saved annually, at this mileage.

Cost of a full charge

At California's rate, fully covering this 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD's 321-mile EPA range costs about $25.88 (78 kWh) — the energy the EPA test actually used, not the battery's rated size.

How this compares nationally

Among all 20,400 state-and-model combinations this site tracks, charging a 2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD in California ranks 15,158 for cost savings versus gas — 1 being the best deal nationally. Separately, the Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD ranks 2 of 400 EV models for raw efficiency, and California ranks 50 of 51 for cheapest residential electricity.

Before you install a home charger in California

Everything above is the per-mile and per-year cost once a home charger exists — getting one installed is a separate electrical job whose price depends on your panel and wiring, not the state average used here.

Line up a few California electrician quotes for Level 2 install before you commit either way.

More on how this number was built

Every figure on this page traces to a named EIA or EPA dataset — see the methodology guide. California has some of the highest residential electricity rates in the country — see the guide to why the cost varies so much by state for the full picture.