How is the cost of driving a Tesla worked out?

Electricity at $0.50 per kWh over 3.7 miles per kWh, food on the road at $22 per person once the driving passes four hours, a $145 hotel night once the drive is too long to finish in a day, and per-mile tire, maintenance and depreciation shown separately as wear rather than cash.

How is the cost of flying worked out?

A fare estimate of $95 plus $0.13 per mile per person, a $35 checked bag each, $24 per person of terminal food once the trip passes three hours door to door,, a $30 ride at each end plus one more while you are there without your car — or $24 a day of airport parking if you drive yourself instead.

Is the airfare a real quote?

No. It is a modelled estimate from distance, not a live fare search, so a cheap advance fare or an expensive last-minute one will differ. Every cost on this site is a modelled estimate rather than a quote.

How is an hour of travel time priced?

The two doors take different amounts of your day, and the difference is charged at $25 an hour per traveler. That figure is a site assumption, not a published rate, and it is listed as one on the Sources page. It fits someone who needs to get there. For someone whose drive is part of the trip, those hours aren't a cost, so Insights and long trip pages also show that second answer: road hours count for nothing, money and stress count as usual. The main verdict always uses the first.

Why does driving get cheaper per person than flying?

Because the car costs the same whether one person or four is in it, while every flying cost except the rides at each end is charged per person. A second traveler roughly doubles the flying side and adds almost nothing to the driving side.

Plan my trip

Cost analysis

What a trip costs by car and by plane

Every cost on both sides, what each one is based on, and how the two totals change with the distance and the number of people travelling.

Driving, 500 miles: $156
Flying, same trip: $512
Kept by driving: $357
Where flying takes over: 1,900 mi

Driving

$156

Flying

$512

Cash out of pocket on a 500-mile (800 km) trip for two, on the site's default rates.

Rates last reviewed 14 September 2026. Airfare is modelled from flight distance, not a live fare quote, so treat it as a typical fare rather than today's price. Every rate here is listed on the Sources page — 19 of 32 figures with a named publisher and year, the rest labelled as site assumptions.

Three steps, every trip

Measure the real trip

Live routing data gives the driving distance and time on the actual roads. Flying is measured airport to airport between the nearest airports to each place, then padded with the drive to the terminal, security, boarding, the air time and bags at the far end.

Add up the cash on each side

Driving: electricity at each charging stop, food once the day passes four hours, a hotel night if the drive is too long to finish. Flying: a fare per person, a checked bag each, and a ride at both ends. Nothing is doubled and nothing is hidden.

Price the hours and the stress

The doors take different amounts of your day, so the difference is charged at $25 an hour per traveler, and the stress score is charged too. When the two totals land within about 8% of each other, the site calls it a toss-up rather than pretending to be sure.

What each side is made of

A 500-mile (800 km) trip, added up line by line on the site's default numbers. Driving is mostly miles — a lot of small charges that grow with the distance. Flying is mostly one big charge, the fare, with the rest of the day's costs bolted on around it. Change the number of travelers and watch the flying side move while the car barely notices.

What makes up each total on this trip

Driving

$216

Charging$68
Food on the road$88
Tire wear$20
Maintenance$10
Wear on the car (not cash)$30

Flying

$512

Rideshare to airport$30
Airfare (estimate)$304
Checked bags$70
Food at the airport$48
Rideshare from airport$30
Getting around without your car$30

Driving, cash out of pocket

$156

Charging$68
Food on the road$88
Cash out of pocket$156

Flying, cash out of pocket

$512

Rideshare to airport$30
Airfare (estimate)$304
Checked bags$70
Food at the airport$48
Rideshare from airport$30
Getting around without your car$30
Cash out of pocket$512

Take the Tesla on cash alone for 2 travelers.

What changes as the trip gets longer

The same weights on four trips. Short trips belong to the car by a wide margin. The further you go, the more the driving side has to carry — more electricity, more meals, eventually a night in a hotel and a whole day of your life.

The same comparison at four trip lengths, two travelers

200 miles (320 km)

Take the Tesla

Driving$27

Flying$442

500 miles (800 km)

Take the Tesla

Driving$156

Flying$512

800 miles (1,300 km)

Book the flight

Driving$341

Flying$580

1,400 miles (2,250 km)

Book the flight

Driving$655

Flying$723

Driving, all in
Flying, all in

Where the two lines cross

Driving climbs with the miles, in steps rather than a smooth line: electricity all the way, meals once you pass four hours, a hotel night once the day gets long. Flying starts high — two fares, two bags, two rides — and then barely moves, because a longer flight costs a little more fuel and the same day of your life. Where the lines meet is the whole answer.

Total cost of the same trip for two, door to door, as the distance grows

Driving, all in
Flying, all in

Where the time goes

Both sides are counted door to door. Flying's bar is shorter, and most of it sits outside the aircraft: the drive to the terminal, security, the wait, the bags. Driving is one long block, and the hours at the wheel are charged for rather than argued away.

Door to door on the same clock, split into what you actually do

Driving

9h 0m

On the road7h 45m
3 Supercharger stops1h 15m

Flying

4h 45m

Drive to airport0h 28m
Security & waiting1h 45m
In the air1h 29m
Deplane & bags0h 35m
Drive to destination0h 28m

Drive time and distance	Live routing data for the actual roads between the two places
Charging stops	One stop every 180 miles, 25 minutes each
Drive to the airport	28 minutes at each end
Security and waiting	105 minutes before boarding
In the air	36 minutes of taxi and climb, plus great-circle miles at 500 mph
Deplane and bags	35 minutes

Still not counted on either side: a cancelled flight costing you a day, a hotel at the destination you'd need anyway, and the tenth hour of a drive feeling nothing like the first.

Driving, line by line

Charging	$0.50 per kWh at 3.7 miles per kWhDCFC Tracker (independent Supercharger price tracker), 2026	Cash
Food on the road	$22 per person, past four hours of drivingSite assumption — see Sources	Cash
Hotel night	$145, added past eleven hours of drivingCoStar / STR, US hotel average daily rate, 2025	Cash
Tire wear	$0.04 per mileSite assumption — see Sources	Wear
Maintenance	$0.02 per mileSite assumption — see Sources	Wear
Wear on the car	$0.06 per mileSite assumption — see Sources	Wear

Cash is money you hand over for this trip. Wear is real but you'd carry most of it whether you drove or not, so the headline comparison uses cash and the wear lines are shown separately. Depreciation is set at 6¢ a mile — generic per-mile figures use 15¢ or more, and Teslas have held their value better than that assumes.

Flying, line by line

Airfare (estimate)	$95 base plus $0.13 per mile, per personUS Bureau of Transportation Statistics, average domestic air fare, 2025 (2024 data)	Cash
Checked bag	$35 per personPublished airline fee schedules (Delta $35, United $40), 2025–2026	Cash
Food at the airport	$24 per person, past three hours door to doorSite assumption — see Sources	Cash
Ride to the airport	$30 each endRideWise, airport rideshare fare survey across 26 US metros, 2026	Cash
Getting around without your car	$30, one extra rideSite assumption — see Sources	Cash
Airport parking instead	$24 a day if you drive yourself — swap it for the rides aboveSite assumption — see Sources	Cash

The fare is a distance-based estimate, not a live price, and it's the weakest number on the site. Real fares swing with the date, the day of the week and how far ahead you book. A cheap advance fare beats this figure, a last-minute one is far worse, and a business fare is in a different universe. Every result page lets you replace the fare with the one you were actually quoted, along with the charging rate and what an hour of your day is worth.

Common questions

How is the cost of driving a Tesla worked out?: Electricity at $0.50 per kWh over 3.7 miles per kWh, food on the road at $22 per person once the driving passes four hours, a $145 hotel night once the drive is too long to finish in a day, and per-mile tire, maintenance and depreciation shown separately as wear rather than cash.
How is the cost of flying worked out?: A fare estimate of $95 plus $0.13 per mile per person, a $35 checked bag each, $24 per person of terminal food once the trip passes three hours door to door,, a $30 ride at each end plus one more while you are there without your car — or $24 a day of airport parking if you drive yourself instead.
Is the airfare a real quote?: No. It is a modelled estimate from distance, not a live fare search, so a cheap advance fare or an expensive last-minute one will differ. Every cost on this site is a modelled estimate rather than a quote.
How is an hour of travel time priced?: The two doors take different amounts of your day, and the difference is charged at $25 an hour per traveler. That figure is a site assumption, not a published rate, and it is listed as one on the Sources page. It fits someone who needs to get there. For someone whose drive is part of the trip, those hours aren't a cost, so Insights and long trip pages also show that second answer: road hours count for nothing, money and stress count as usual. The main verdict always uses the first.
Why does driving get cheaper per person than flying?: Because the car costs the same whether one person or four is in it, while every flying cost except the rides at each end is charged per person. A second traveler roughly doubles the flying side and adds almost nothing to the driving side.

Price your trip How the stress score works