Tesla has added charging statistics to its smartphone app, enabling owners to view charging history and cost, but certain settings are only available to US and Canadian drivers.
The new feature, which is part of a recent app update, can be accessed in the main menu of the Tesla app under “Charging Stats”.
It shows a rolling history of the last 31 days of charging whether it was done at home, at Tesla Supercharger or at a third-party network. Oddly, the feature’s addition was left out of iTunes’ App Store log.
The Charge Stats page shows how much was spent in the period based on the average electricity rate per kWh for any given driver’s home state. This is initially set by Tesla for both the home rate and third-party network rate, and can be set by scrolling down to settings.
It is currently missing the ability to automatically add local rates via setting Australian state utility providers (only US and Canadian states are currently listed, even though the app update can be downloaded locally), a feature that would no doubt be welcomed because although a custom rate can be set, it takes some set up particularly if you have solar panels that affect your usage.
It’s also something of a data-collecting exercise for Tesla. Tesla asks for both your utility provider name, and the name of your rate plan, then asks you to select if your average rate changes by the season or month (useful if you have solar panels of the roof), or by time of use (useful if you have a tariff rate).
Tesla owners can also add only one third-party network rate, which isn’t ideal if you are in the habit of using multiple networks.
Nevertheless, the charging stats will undoubtedly give owners some insight into potential fuel savings, and monthly charging costs.
In the screenshot below, my personal figures show $133 savings from not having to by fuel. This is based on the fact I currently have free charging on Superchargers (currently set to expire in May). I’ve averaged my home electricity rates including daily supply charges to 39 cents per kWh.
Tesla has copped criticism in the past for adding in “gas savings” on its online order page as there are numerous factors involved in actual potential savings. In Germany, Electrek reports that Tesla was told to stop including fuel savings in 2019.
As the Charging stats only includes a short-term 31 day snapshot, owners would need to keep ongoing screenshots if they want to assess long-term savings.
It is unclear if the feature will be able to be used by owners of other EVs such as in Norway, France and the Netherlands where Tesla is piloting open access to Superchargers, as such a feature would require Tesla to access vehicle charging data.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.