Techjaja

This is the cost of Yaka if you owned an electric Tesla Model X in Uganda – Techjaja

Let’s just assume all of a sudden you can afford to buy a fully electric car in this case, Tesla Model X. This vehicle is unique in that it uses falcon wing doors for passenger access. This 2016 made-vehicle is a head turner– but what would be the cost of Yaka to charge this car in comparison to a gasoline-fuelled car.

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The Model X was modeled from the full-sized sedan platform of the Tesla Model S. It has an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Size Class as an SUV, and shares ~30% of its content with the Model S, half of the originally planned ~60%, and weighs about 10 percent more. Both the Model X and Model S are produced at the same Tesla Factory in the USA.

The Tesla Model X comes in many versions and ranges which include;

For the 90D version for example, on a single full charge, you are guaranteed 414 Km without a recharge. You can drive 333.8 km from Kampala to Gulu without the need to stop and refuel or recharge.

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It all comes down to the cost of these electric cars. The base price of the Model X 100D is about UGX 365 million ($97,000) before taxes as of Jan 2019. In July 2019, Tesla added a Long-Range model of the Model X with a 523 km EPA range priced at UGX 318 million ($84,500) before taxes. But is paying all this amount worth the Yaka consumption costs supposing you ship in one of these cars in Uganda?

ALSO READ: Full specifications of the Kayoola EVS™ Buses that have hit the streets of Kampala

Tesla Model X fuel economy and operating costs

Now let’s look at the Yaka cost of fully charging a Tesla Model X. As of writing this article, the cost of 1 kWh of Yaka domestic power is about UGX 886 per unit. To fully charge a Telsa Model X 75D, it will cost about UGX 66,450 worth of Yaka — which can take you for a 383 km journey and about UGX 79,740 using the 90D version to take you about 414 km. The 90D has a range of 21kWh per 100 km which means you can drive 4 km on just one kilowatt of Yaka Power.

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Let’s compare with a 2016 Totoya Premio, (model DBA-ZRT260) with a 1,800 CC Petrol engine which has a fuel consumption of 16.40 km per liter. If a liter of fuel costs about UGX 3,960–a 383 km journey (75D range) use 23.4 liters of petrol worth UGX 92,480 and A 414 km (90D range) will cost about UGX 100,000 of gasoline.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We used the 2016 Totoya Premio, (model DBA-ZRT260) for illustration purposes only. You can replace it with any car of your choice as long as you know its fuel consumption i.e km per liter of gasoline. The math remains the same.

If one used a Telsa Model X 75D, you will be saving UGX 25,030 and if you used the 100D you will have a 30% cost saving. So with these statistics, its clear that the years of gasoline-powered cars will soon come to an end, but there is a huge problem with fully electric cars — they are expensive. This is the reason why most people will continue to drive gasoline-fuelled cars until electric cars become more affordable.

So if you could afford an electric car, do you think its worth the fuel consumption saving? Leave us a comment below.

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