[_FKS_]

It probably depends on the kind of car. I'd suggest you watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkj-vf1_pzQ (with english subtitles) - the guy is an automotive engineer. In the first 10 minutes, he compares how an electric car does in a coal-based electricity vs. non-coal. You can quickly see that in a country with heavy coal electricity mix, you're better off driving a gas car. Even Germany is break-even.

[mikeash]

Do you have this in text form, or can you tell me where my numbers went wrong? The math is simple and the numbers behind it are all pretty easy to find.

Sure, it depends on the kind of car. A Tesla running on 100% coal is not as good as a first-generation Honda Insight. But if you compare similar cars then electric is at least at parity (for unrealistic 100% coal grids) and typically way better.

[_FKS_]

https://energieduthorium.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/la-voit... - check from slide 23 on.

He compares pretty much the same car, from the same (French) maker, but with one version of the car running on Diesel, and one electric. You can see already that in half of EU countries, including Germany, running a gas car is better than an electric one.

Not sure how that does work out in the US, but given that 2/3 of electricity mix in the US are from fossil fuels (from which about 40% coal), you should be closer to Poland. So essentialy, depending on the state where you drive your Tesla, you could be better off with gas powered car (in terms of CO2 emissions).

[mikeash]

I'm surprised that car is so inefficient. The quoted kWh/mile is worse than a Model S, for a much smaller car. That is going to influence the conclusion a ton, no doubt.