Home Diagnosis and TroubleshootingFuel Systems Can You Put Gas In A Tesla – Do Teslas Need Gas?

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla – Do Teslas Need Gas?

by Jordan Harris
Can You Put Gas In A Tesla

Have you ever wondered if can you put gas in a Tesla? If this is the question that bothers you, then you came to the right place because there will be quite a lot to cover on this topic where we are going to cover all you need to know when it comes to Teslas and electric vehicles in general.

Electric vehicles are getting more and more trendy each day and more of these cars are sold on the market. And people who were using gas-powered vehicles till recently are rather confused by these cars. And we understand that. Because moving from an internal combustion engine to an electric powertrain can be rather confusing and can create a lot of misunderstandings.

We are not all into cars and know all about them. This is why we need to simplify things and explain in detail the method of action of these cars and also learn about Tesla and what they are and their lineup of cars. So, if you are still confused about electric vehicles, this article will be perfect for you.

First, we are going to cover what EVs are and how electric vehicles work. Then we will cover the pros and cons of electric vehicles. Once we understand how electric vehicles work, we will briefly discuss Tesla and its model lineup. After that, we will cover the topic of whether can you put gas in a Tesla and we will answer other important questions that bother a lot of people. So, if you want to learn more, follow along.

Electric Vehicle

Now before we start discussing more about the topic of whether can you put gas in a Tesla. Let’s take a look at what is an electric vehicle in general. Why is this necessary? Well, mainly because a lot of people are confused and they do not know how these vehicles work. So, this will be a nice introduction to the topic.

So, what is an electric vehicle? Well, an electric vehicle in simple terms is a vehicle that is running on electricity. These vehicles are also known as EVs. That’s why if you come across the EV abbreviation, you should not get confused at all. EV refers to an electric vehicle.

These vehicles have become trendy these days mainly because of Tesla since they were the first company to introduce them to the market. And most EVs sold out there right now are marketed as the cure for all of our problems. But the reality is not quite there.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla

Even though the idea for an EV is rather good. There are still some drawbacks that we are going to discuss later on when we will cover the pros and cons of these vehicles.

The important thing for you to understand is that these electric vehicles can be purchased with tax deductions by the government and you could get a vehicle that releases zero emissions into the atmosphere.

So, if you are on the hunt for an EV, checking these opportunities might be the way to go because why pay the full retail when you can get a solid discount on one of these cars, right? Especially nowadays when car prices are going through the roof. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that we will cover in a bit.

How Do Electric Vehicles Work

Now since we cleared the core concept of electric vehicles and learned what these vehicles are. We think that now it is time to dive deeper into the problem and learn how electric vehicles work before we learn if can you put gas in a Tesla. Once you understand how electric cars work, the answer to this question will be self-explanatory.

So, how do electric vehicles work? Well, electric vehicles unlike internal combustion vehicles are taking a whole different approach.

Instead of using an internal combustion engine or ICE, they are using electric motors to spin the wheels. And as you probably know, electric motors need electricity to power them up instead of gasoline.

On each electric car, there is at least one electric motor. Some electric cars can even have four of these motors with one of them mounted per wheel. And usually, these are high-performance electric vehicles.

Nevertheless, the energy that powers these vehicles is stored in what is something known as a battery. These battery packs are probably the heaviest components of the whole EV.

These big battery packs are packing thousands of small lithium-ion batteries that work together to deliver electricity.

And the size of the battery pack is determined by the fact of how many of these smaller batteries are inside. Nowadays usually the smallest packs are around 65 kWh. But there are battery packs that can hold 100 kWh.

Also, the range of electric vehicles is usually determined by the size of the battery pack. The bigger the battery pack, the more range you will get out of the electric vehicle. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that, we will cover it in a bit.

Pros And Cons Of Electric Vehicles

So, we learned what are electric vehicles and how these electric vehicles work. Now we think that it is time to cover more on the pros and cons of having an electric vehicle before we start discussing about the question if can you put gas in a Tesla.

Knowing the pros and cons will be quite useful for people who are not into electric vehicles and do not know the benefits and downsides when it comes to purchasing one of these vehicles. So, if you are one of them, the next two chapters will be beneficial for you as a future EV owner. After that, we will move into answering the question of whether can you put gas in a Tesla. So, if you want to learn more, follow along.

Pros

So, what are the pros of having an EV? Well, when it comes to the pros, we can say that there are many of them.

One of the biggest pros of course is that you have a vehicle that produces zero emissions. So, if you are one of those people who are obsessed with their carbon footprint on this planet, then going for an EV is a no-brainer decision. With an electric vehicle, you basically produce zero gases and the car runs cleanly.

The second pro of having an EV is the price to charge the battery. Electricity is not that expensive now, at least not yet, since electric cars are still yet a niche market and not a lot of people own one. So, till the official discontinuation of gas-powered cars, if this ever happens, you will be able to enjoy a cheaper charge cost.

The next pro of having an EV is probably the autonomy of driving. Even though these vehicles need to be charged, they are perfect for people who don’t travel quite a lot.

So, if you are using your EV for commuting to work and going to get groceries. Then this vehicle would be perfect for you because you can charge it in your garage with an aftermarket charger that can top off your battery during the night and each morning you will have a full charge.

And the last pro of having an electric vehicle is the lower maintenance costs. On EVs, there are hardly any maintenance costs involved. Since there is no engine inside of the vehicle, there isn’t quite a lot to worry about breaking. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that, we will cover it in a bit.

Cons

Now let’s take a look at the cons of electric vehicles before we dive into the topic of whether can you put gas in a Tesla. Are there any cons at all? Well, there are, in fact, there are many cons when it comes to owning one of these cars.

The first con is the longer charging speed. If you want to top off a gas tank, you only need 2-3 minutes max. But in order to charge an electric car to 80%, you will need at least 30 minutes. And this is only if you have a supercharger around. If not, the charging might take a lot longer. Especially the last 20% can take another half an hour in some cases. So, beware of this.

The next con that we are going to cover is the price. Electric cars are more expensive than gas-powered cars. And the base model like the Nissan Leaf comes at a starting price of $30,000.

And for this amount of money, you can get a well-equipped gas-powered car and you will also be left with extra money for gas. Also, a base Tesla is $50,000. So, you get the idea, that these cars are not for everyone’s pocket.

The next con is probably the charging network. Not all of the US is covered with charging stations. And if you want to plan a trip, you need to know the route and estimate if you will be able to reach certain charging stations.

And imagine that you will have to do this every 200 miles and wait there for an hour. This can be rather frustrating. So, you need to be aware of these things before you learn if can you put gas in a Tesla. But more on that in a bit.

Tesla

So, before we start discussing about the question of whether can you put gas in a Tesla, let’s take a look at what is Tesla and learn a little bit about the history of this brand.

If you didn’t know Tesla is one of the biggest if not the biggest car company in the world right now by value. They might not output a ton of cars, but their value is crazy high since there are a lot of people who believe in them and want to trade their stocks.

Nevertheless, this company was founded in 2003 as a small startup and quickly evolved into a proper company that released its first product, the Tesla Roadster in 2008. This was in fact a Lotus with an electric powertrain. These didn’t sell in big numbers but were a great starting point for attracting investors.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla

And one of these investors was Elon Musk, who now is the CEO of Tesla. Since he arrived at the company, the company started moving forward and released the Model S in 2012. And soon after that many models followed. More on them, we are going to cover next.

What is important to know is that nowadays Tesla has factories in the US, China, and Europe with the all-new Giga Berlin factory.

Also, Tesla does not only produce electric vehicles but also photovoltaic systems for creating electric energy as well as systems for storing electric energy.

So, we can say that they have pretty much diversified their business and have reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion. Which is a crazy amount of money. But one question troubles us and that is can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that, we are going to answer in a bit.

Tesla Models

Now let’s discuss the Tesla model lineup before we cover the topic of whether can you put gas in a Tesla. In the following chapters, we are going to cover all the current models briefly and learn some of their specs.

We will not cover future models since these models are not still yet confirmed to be released. There was a lot of fuzz around the Cybertruck and the Roadster. Unfortunately, nothing was materialized as of today. So, let’s cover the current lineup briefly.

Model S

The Tesla Model S was the first model that was released in mass production as we mentioned. This model was introduced in 2012 and as of today, it is 10 years old.

And frankly, even though Tesla is trying to bring updates, the model is pretty old and does not fit the bill anymore. We don’t know what will happen with this model in the near future, whether it will be replaced with a new model or a new generation of the Model S will be released, only the future will tell.

Nevertheless, the S model is the most luxurious offering in the lineup and also the one that packs the most battery power and electric motors. The top-of-the-line model is the Plaid. The Plaid accelerates from 0 to 60 in approximately 2 seconds.

You will notice this model by the unique yoke steering wheel. Some people hate it, some people love it. I personally think that it looks rather unique and interesting. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that we are going to cover in a bit.

Model 3

Now before we answer the question of whether can you put gas in a Tesla, let’s take a look at the next model in the current lineup. And this is the Model 3.

This model was introduced in 2017 and was dedicated to the people who want to drive a Tesla on a budget. And driving a Tesla on a budget is like having the cheapest iPhone. It is not the best but it still costs a lot of money.

More precisely, the starting price of this model is about $50,000. Even though this model was promising to be one of the cheaper options at about $35,000.

Nevertheless, besides its high price, the Model 3 is a rather good vehicle. It has a number of battery packs to choose from and you can spec one with 350 miles of range. Which is rather good autonomy for an EV if not the best in the EV world right now. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on this in a moment, we have two more models to cover.

Model Y

The next model that we are going to cover in the Tesla lineup is the Tesla Model Y. This model is like a Tesla Model 3 but lifted a little bit. The Model Y was released in 2020 and is the freshest model in the lineup. It is based on Model 3. So, they resemble each other quite a bit.

You can differentiate the Model Y by the higher ground clearance and also the higher roofline that it implements. So, if you are a taller person, this model will be the right one for you. The rest of the specs are pretty much similar to the Model 3. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More on that we are going to cover in a bit.

Model X

The Tesla Model X is the last model that we are going to cover before we learn more about whether can you put gas in a Tesla.

This model unlike the previous models is quite different and unique. This is basically a mid-size SUV. The Model X was developed from the Model S sedan and shares a lot of the internals with it.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla

Even though on the outside, these two are looking completely different. The Model X is a big and bulky vehicle that implements falcon doors at the rear.

A ton of people hate this design. But I think that this makes the Model X quite interesting for people since there is no other vehicle sold with falcon doors. So, if you are one of those guys who want something really unique, the Model X might be the way to go. But can you put gas in a Tesla? More about that next.

Do Teslas Use Gas

So, we have covered quite a bit when it comes to electric vehicles, their pros, and cons as well as Tesla and its lineup but we didn’t answer the most crucial question, and that is can you put gas in a Tesla? Can you do this practice?

The simple answer is no, you cannot put gas in a Tesla. It doesn’t matter if you own a Model S, Model X, Model 3, or Model Y. None of these cars will work on gas.

The first thing is that you don’t have a place to pour fuel. You have a fuel door, but this door is intended for the charger to go in and not to pour gasoline.

Second thing is that inside the car, there is no internal combustion engine. The engine inside of the car is an electric motor that only works on electricity. It doesn’t work on gas.

This is why you should never try to put gas in a Tesla unless you want to burn the car to the ground. And considering the cost of a new Tesla, this is something that you don’t want to afford to do. That’s why to take your Tesla to your nearest supercharger and charge it with electricity.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #1: A Misconception Debunked

First and foremost, let’s clear up a common misconception. Teslas are electric vehicles (EVs), which means they run on electricity, not gasoline. The question, “Can you put gas in a Tesla?” might seem odd to those familiar with EVs. Still, it’s essential to understand what happens if someone makes this mistake.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #2: Physical Barriers

Luckily, Tesla has designed its vehicles with the user in mind. The charging port of a Tesla isn’t shaped like a typical gasoline filler neck. So, you’d face a physical challenge trying to fit a gas nozzle into the charging port. However, let’s imagine someone finds a way around this.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #3: Immediate Ramifications

If gasoline gets poured into a Tesla’s charging port, it won’t reach the battery. But, it could cause damage to the charging port or the electronics connected to it. Gasoline is a solvent, and contact could degrade the port’s materials or short out electrical connections. This is the immediate side effect, but the problems don’t end here.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #4: Long-Term Hazards

Even if you manage to clean up the spill promptly, traces of gasoline can linger. Over time, these remnants could erode various components and pose a fire risk. Additionally, if gasoline were to get inside the vehicle’s interior or any ventilation system, it would give off a persistent smell and could affect the air quality inside the car.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #5: The Repair Process

After such an incident, a trip to the service center becomes mandatory. Tesla would need to check the charging port, related electronics, and any affected areas. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could be costly. Plus, as this isn’t a common problem, service centers might need more time to assess and rectify the situation.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #6: A Misstep’s Impact on Warranty

Pouring gasoline into a Tesla isn’t a manufacturer defect or a wear-and-tear issue. It’s an accident, and accidents usually aren’t covered under the warranty. Consequently, owners might find themselves bearing the full cost of repairs. Before making any decisions, it’s vital to discuss the issue with the service center and understand the warranty’s terms.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla, Side Effects #7: The Environment and Safety

Spilling gasoline isn’t just bad for the car; it’s harmful to the environment. Gasoline can pollute the soil and water. If someone pours gasoline mistakenly, cleaning it up responsibly becomes crucial. Additionally, gasoline is flammable. Spills increase the risk of fires, endangering the vehicle’s occupants and nearby structures or vehicles.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla: In Conclusion…

In this article, we have covered quite a bit when it comes to the topic of whether can you put gas in a Tesla. First, we covered what are electric vehicles and how these vehicles work. As well as their pros and cons.

Then we moved on to Tesla and learned about this company and its model lineup. Lastly, we covered the question of whether can you put gas in a Tesla.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Now let’s answer some frequently asked questions.

Do Teslas Have Engines

Tesla vehicles do not have standard internal combustion engines. They run on electric motors. The electric motor in fact is the engine of the Tesla cars.

Do Teslas Use Gas

Tesla models do not use gasoline. This is the case because these cars do not have internal combustion engines but rather electric motors. And as we all know, electric motors do not run on gasoline but on electricity.

Do Teslas Need Oil Changes

Tesla cars do not require oil changes because there is no oil in the car. There is no internal combustion engine only electric motors. And electric motors do not have oil in them. These motors are bone dry inside.

Can You Put Gas In A Tesla

You cannot put gas in a Tesla because Tesla does not have an internal combustion engine. This means no fuel door for gasoline. You can only charge the Tesla at an EV charging station.

What Happens If Your Tesla Runs Out Of Battery

If the Tesla runs out of battery, it will simply stop and that would be it. The internal systems will shut down and the car will not move. And this is something that you want to avoid and always monitor your range.

Do Electric Cars Have Gas Backup

No, electric vehicles do not have a gas backup. The only vehicle that runs on electricity and has a gas backup is the plug-in hybrid. With these vehicles, you can drive for 30 to 50 miles on purely electric power and then switch to the gas-powered engine.

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