Electrician Uses Tesla Model Y for Work, Reports $3 Weekly Running Cost

A van separates cargo from passengers; a crossover generally gives more space to the people inside. Melbourne electrician Brendan Lang has chosen the second compromise, using a Tesla Model Y to carry trade equipment during the working week and serve as his family’s only car after hours. He says its running cost was, at one point, as low as $3 a week.

That figure is the eye-catching part of Lang’s experience, but the vehicle’s dual role is the more instructive one. The founder of home-electrification company Get Off Gas said the electric vans available to him did not provide the combination of cargo space, driving range and family practicality he required. The Model Y offered a way to avoid maintaining separate work and household vehicles.

A crossover doing selected van duties

Lang’s working loads include rooftop ladders, induction cooktops, heat-pump equipment and removed hot-water systems. Some equipment travels inside, while the ladders are carried on the roof. Away from work, the same vehicle transports his family and can carry four mountain bikes for trips.

This arrangement demonstrates the value of flexible packaging, but it does not make an electric crossover equivalent to a purpose-built van. A crossover can suit a trade operator whose loads fit within its cabin and roof-carrying arrangement. A van remains better suited to bulky cargo, permanent shelving, dirty materials or jobs requiring a large, dedicated load compartment. Lang’s result therefore reflects his particular mix of service work, equipment and family transport.

Purchase-price comparisons also depend on the alternatives being considered. Lang said some pickups cost $10,000 to $20,000 more than his Model Y before operating expenses were included. That is his comparison rather than a universal market rule: vehicle specification, payload needs, accessories and tax treatment can all change the calculation.

Why $3 a week is difficult to reproduce

Lang’s lowest reported weekly running cost sits within a much larger electrified system. He has solar panels, battery storage and all-electric equipment, and reported paying about $14 a month for electricity across his home and office. Charging a vehicle with surplus solar can reduce purchased electricity substantially, especially when the car is parked where it can absorb daytime generation.

Drivers buying ordinary grid power face a different cost structure. Australian EV plans can offer deeply discounted charging windows, but rates, eligibility conditions, daily caps and household charges vary. An October 2026 comparison found overnight EV rates as low as 4.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, while using a standard rate of 35 cents would raise the example annual charging cost from about $108 to $840. Those calculations assumed 15,000 kilometres of annual driving and typical consumption, rather than Lang’s workload.

Reliance on public infrastructure widens the gap further. A 2026 Australian public-charging guide listed prices of approximately $0.30 to $0.50 per kilowatt-hour for charging at up to 22 kilowatts, rising to $0.60 to $0.85 at the fastest stations. Public charging can be useful for long journeys, but its energy cost is materially different from absorbing otherwise-exported solar power at home or work.

Timing is another systems constraint. A work vehicle may be away from its solar-equipped base during the strongest generation hours. Capturing cheap energy depends on where the vehicle is parked, how much surplus generation is available and whether its charging equipment can coordinate with solar production and battery storage. A low electricity bill therefore reflects the full energy installation, not the car alone.

Transport demand matters alongside drivetrain choice

Get Off Gas also reduces vehicle use in ways unrelated to the Model Y. Solar panels are sent directly to job sites rather than carried through the company’s base, while Lang uses a Tern GSD cargo e-bike for some quotes, inspections and local callouts in inner Melbourne. These decisions remove trips or shift smaller tasks to a lighter vehicle.

The company still has a combustion-powered vehicle with a reported fuel bill of about $350 a month. Lang said it was preparing to order Kia PV5 electric vans, suggesting that the Model Y is filling a practical gap rather than settling the crossover-versus-van question for every job. The next step will test whether dedicated electric commercial vehicles can take over the company’s heavier transport duties while preserving the operating advantages of charging within its solar-backed energy system.

By Thomas Caldwell — AMI’s senior editor for mechanical and mobility engineering, covering vehicle electronics, systems integration, electrification, chassis systems, propulsion, and safety policy.