MW 'It's money in the bank every week': With gas prices over $4.50 a gallon, 7 EV drivers tell us they have no regrets
By Genna Contino
The surge in gas prices has sparked a wave of interest in electric vehicles
MarketWatch asked seven EV owners around the U.S. how much they're saving on gas.
As average gas prices across the country hit $4.54 a gallon Wednesday - up 24 cents just from last week - many drivers of electric vehicles say they haven't noticed.
The national average gas price has climbed sharply since the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began in late February, and in California, the average is now more than $6 a gallon. The surge has sparked a wave of interest in EVs: In March, sales of used electric vehicles soared 54% month over month, according to Cox Automotive.
The savings that EV drivers are experiencing now are real, but so is the fine print. The average new EV costs about $11,000 more than a comparable gas-powered car, and the $7,500 federal tax credit that once helped offset that gap was eliminated last summer. At roughly $88 in monthly fuel savings, it would take years for most buyers to break even on the purchase price.
And EV drivers, like other Americans, are feeling the pinch from overall inflation as a result of elevated oil prices.
Still, as motorists cough up more than $100 in some cases to fill up their gas-powered cars, some EV drivers say they are feeling a sense of vindication. MarketWatch asked seven of them how much they're saving. Here's what they had to say.
Dive deeper: Here's how much EV drivers say they're saving on fuel as gas tops $4 a gallon
Alex Fiehl charges his Tesla while recording a video about EVs for his YouTube channel.
Name: Alex Fiehl
Location: Binghamton, N.Y.
Cars: 2022 Tesla Model Y Performance, Kia EV9
How much they're saving: Fiehl's utility provider in upstate New York lets EV owners charge their cars overnight at half the normal rate. When electricity prices spiked this winter, Fiehl and his wife still paid only about $10 to $15 to fully charge each of their cars - significantly less than the $60 to $70 he estimated it would have cost to fill up his wife's SUV if it were gas powered. "It just feels like it's money in the bank every week," Fiehl said.
Nathan Lee purchased a Tesla Model 3 in August.
Name: Nathan Lee
Location: Dallas-Fort Worth
Cars: 2023 Tesla Model 3, 2026 Tesla Model Y
How much they're saving: After 14 years in a Kia (KR:000270) Optima, Lee calculated that the amount he saves on gas will eventually offset the entire purchase price of his Tesla if he drives it for the same number of years. The math became even more compelling in April, when his wife also switched to an EV, taking advantage of a 0.99% interest rate on a Tesla $(TSLA)$ Model Y. Their insurance premium rose $50 a month with the new car, but they wiped out a $250 monthly gas bill. By using a "free nights" electricity plan offered by their utility in Texas, the couple can charge both vehicles for $0 between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., so they're netting $200 in monthly household savings. With the current elevated gas prices, "it kind of feels like an I-told-you-so moment," Lee said.
Jamie Dow with Rafael de Mestre, who drove his EV around the world.
Name: Jamie Dow
Location: Southern California
Cars: 2008 Tesla Roadster, 2017 Tesla Model 3, 2020 Tesla Model Y
How much they're saving: Dow, who writes about the EV industry for the trade publication Electrek, spends between $75 and $140 a month - which comes out to roughly 6 cents per mile - to fuel three EVs by charging at off-peak times. Even in an area with high utility rates, Dow said his charging expenses are 40% lower than the most efficient hybrid on the market and four times less than the cost of filling up a comparable gas-powered sports car. While today it would cost $132 to fill up the tank of his old 1994 Jeep $(STLA)$ Grand, he can now charge his Roadster for about $10. "The only time I check gas prices is when it's in the news," Dow said. "I literally have no idea otherwise."
Name: James Hale
Location: Basehor, Kan.
Cars: 2022 Rivian R1T, 2026 Kia EV9
How much they're saving: Hale and his wife let their EVs charge overnight when electric costs are lower. The human-resources manager's Rivian (RIVN) truck costs about 2 cents per mile to charge, meaning that if he drives 1,000 miles a month, he spends about $20 on electricity. Driving the same amount in his old gas-powered Honda (JP:7267) Ridgeline truck cost him about $160 per month. "It's pretty easy to see the savings there," Hale said.
Lauren Ghazikhanian snapped a photo with her Kia EV6 after purchasing it.
Name: Lauren Ghazikhanian
Location: Tehachapi, Calif.
Car: 2024 Kia EV6
How much they're saving: Ghazikhanian saved roughly $170 a month on fuel after switching to an electric vehicle. To maximize the savings, the nonprofit communications director and her husband then sold their gas car to fund a home solar system. Now, charging her EV adds about $31 to her monthly utility bill - a significant drop from the $200 she used to budget monthly for gas. She noted that while her friends in California, where gas prices recently surpassed $6 a gallon, are paying more than $100 for a single fill-up, she powers both her 2,500-square-foot home and her car for $65 a month. "I've always had that balance of being an environmentalist and a car enthusiast and trying to find cars that were both economical and fun," Ghazikhanian said. "And EVs do that."
Name: Chris Li
Location: Los Angeles County
Car: 2024 Audi Q4 e-tron
How much they're saving: When Li's electric Audi was getting serviced recently, he had to use a loaner car from the dealership to go on a weekend trip to San Diego. The interior architect had to fill up the gas-powered 2026 Q5 before returning it, paying $108 to do so. For comparison, when the battery on Li's electric Audi is at about 10%, it costs him less than $25 to fully charge it. When gas prices started to rise, Lee said he partly "felt relief, but the other half of me, I just felt like, 'Oh, my God, all these people that don't have a way to switch into an electrified vehicle that are stuck paying these gas prices, they don't have a way out of it.'"
Matthew Fuller bought a used Nissan Leaf.
Name: Matthew Fuller
Location: Central Florida
Car: 2018 Nissan Leaf
How much they're saving: Fuller is a college student who works part time at a Starbucks $(SBUX)$ and is on a tight budget. He purchased a used Nissan (JP:7201) Leaf in February for $6,500. For the 1,000 miles or so he typically drives each month, it costs him about $43 to charge his car at home. To drive same distance in his old car, a Nissan Sentra, he would be paying about $164 a month for gas today.
What personal-finance issues would you like to see covered in MarketWatch? We would like to hear from readers about their financial decisions and money-related questions. You can write to us at readerstories@marketwatch.com. A reporter may be in touch to learn more. MarketWatch will not attribute your answers to you by name without your permission.
-Genna Contino
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2026 13:47 ET (17:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments