Do Teslas Use Gas? (Answered)

What Apple did to the phone industry, Tesla did it for the automotive world.

In a very short span of time, Tesla changed the course of the entire industry. Had it not been for this EV maker headed by Elon Musk, you wouldn’t see so many electric vehicles from different manufacturers on the roads.

Tesla is at the forefront of all things EV and shows no signs of slowing down. As you see more Teslas on the road, a common question I get asked is this:

Do Teslas use gas at all? The short answer is no, Teslas do not use gasoline. Tesla vehicles run completely on huge lithium batteries that are charged by electricity using a charging station. None of the vehicles in the Tesla range are gasoline-powered (and have never been in the past).

Tesla's mission is clear: end the burning of fossils. And, they're leading by example in that area. They've never done and would never ever consider making a product that burns fossil fuels.

In this post, we will go through this common question in detail and talk about:

Can You Put Gas in a Tesla?

No, you cannot put gasoline in a Tesla vehicle. Tesla vehicles are electric cars, and the only fuel they use is electricity. There's no engine, no transmission system, no fuel tank and no tailpipe. The car relies entirely on a Li-ion battery pack to power the electric motors, the whole system and the entertainment features in the cabin.

Now, the electricity you use to charge your Li-ion batteries on a Tesla could be sourced from gasoline indirectly using a generator burning fuel. However, that’s as inefficient as it could be, compared to using electricity directly or using an ICE vehicle (using petrol or diesel) itself.

The bottom line is that you can’t put gas in a Tesla as there’s no need for it.

Related: Does Tesla Have An Engine?

Where Do You Put Fuel in a Tesla?

As you would have figured by now, the short answer to this question is that you don’t. Tesla vehicles are battery-powered and use electricity, unlike the ICE vehicles that are powered by dinosaur fuel.

You’d have seen videos floating around the internet showing a poor soul trying to fill their Tesla at a gas station with no idea that Teslas don’t use fossil fuels.

But in many cases, it's either a prank or they're at the gas station to just fill up a can or a canister to take home for a lawnmower or a hedge trimmer.

I am leaving one of them below for you to laugh too! 😉

What Happens if You Put Gas in a Tesla?

Tesla is an all-electric car; they don't have an engine or fuel tank like ICE cars. So, there is no way you can put gas in a Tesla.

If ever you’d be trying to put gas in a Tesla, it better be into a can or a canister sitting in your trunk or frunk (front boot). If that's not what you're doing, you’d be technically putting it on a Tesla, which I won’t recommend. 😝

Does Tesla Have Gas Backup?

Many people wonder if Tesla vehicles have some sort of backup gas system. The truth is that Tesla vehicles don't need gasoline or diesel fuel. They're all-electric, fully powered by the lithium battery pack onboard, so no backup is required. It's the same reason gasoline cars don't run on grass and hay.

Like gas cars replaced horses and carts in the not-so-distant past, electric cars will replace gas cars in the not-so-distant future. The shift is quite evident already.

When you start driving a Tesla and develop a charging routine, you’ll feel that you never even needed a backup. Just keep a tab on the battery levels on your EV display, and you’ll be fine.

These are some common queries if you’ve never owned or driven an electric vehicle before. As you get used to it, you’d never feel the need for a fossil fuel backup.

So now you must be wondering: if you cannot use petrol or diesel to run Teslas vehicles, then how do you fuel a Tesla? What powers them?

What Do Tesla Vehicles Use Instead of Gas?

Tesla vehicles are fully electric, and they're fuelled by electricity instead of gas. They use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to power the car's electric motor, which is located between the wheels.

Tesla's battery packs yield a range of anywhere from 260 to 400+ miles before they need to be recharged again, depending on the model and can be charged to 80% in less than 30 minutes with Tesla's Supercharger network.

However, there are some limitations to this range. If you drive at higher speeds, the range will decrease because this will use up more power. If you drive in cold weather, that will also decrease the range because of lower battery efficiency.

Check out my list of tips to increase Tesla range for all weather.

Wrapping Up: Does Tesla Use Gas?

Okay, so there you have it!

Teslas don't use gas or diesel fuels and rely on the power of electric energy stored in lithium batteries.

If you didn’t know this, now you know.

Next time you have a friend wondering, “do Teslas take gas?” you have all the knowledge to enlighten them with what you learned today. Or, you could even send them this link. 😉

What are other Tesla-related queries keeping you up at night? Drop me a comment below on what you want me to cover next.

The idea behind starting this Tesla blog was to help you have a better understanding of everything Tesla. So, let me know what I should write about next.

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