Are Teslas, Let Alone Any Electric Car, Actually Better For The Environment Than Gas Cars?

A photo of a white Tesla Model Y parked in front of a company showroom.

Sleek, modern, and unmistakably chic, electric cars have taken both the internet and the roads by storm. Marketed as the future of sustainable transportation, Tesla has spent over two decades branding itself as the face of this latest tech craze. However, the extent to which electric vehicles actually live up to their promises of sustainability and innovation remains debatable. 

There’s no denying one thing: watching from your rearview mirror as a stylish Tesla glides silently through lanes of idling cars feels like you’re living a sci-fi dream. Flush door handles tucked neatly away. The glass roof catching the sun’s glare. No noise, mess, or waste. Tesla, it seems, is a machine designed for a better, cleaner world. It has been hailed by everyone from climate activists to Silicon Valley geniuses for its environmental benefits (and, not to mention, its aesthetic appeal). It’s true, as electric cars like Teslas are usually more environmentally-friendly than gas-powered cars. Yet, this is not for the simplistic reasons people often assume. These benefits come with many caveats and trade-offs.

Tesla’s most electrifying advantage is that it doesn’t burn gasoline, meaning it doesn’t produce tailpipe emissions, which are the pollutants released from a vehicle’s exhaust because of fuel combustion. Gas-powered cars have been found to emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, substances that contribute to the accumulation of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere and exacerbate the worrisome climate crisis. Tesla avoids this problem altogether. You could sit in traffic for an hour, and the car would not release a single puff of exhaust. That can make a world of difference for air quality in urban areas, where many people live close to busy roadways.

According to a 2022 analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation, electric vehicles produce, all factors considered (excluding manufacturing), fewer greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes than gas cars. Even though the electricity used to charge them comes from fossil fuels, the net emissions are usually much lower because electric motors are more efficient. However, while driving a Tesla may have become all the rage over the past twenty years, making one is a whole different story. Tesla vehicles rely on large lithium-ion batteries that use materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Mining these substances is no easy feat. Lithium extraction uses lots of water, often burdening arid regions where water is already scarce. Cobalt mining, in particular, often leads to environmental degradation and, in parts of the world without labor protections, dangerous working conditions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that building the average Tesla produces more carbon emissions than building a traditional gas car. As such, a Tesla starts its life with a worse carbon footprint before it ever even hits the road. 

To be fair, while a gas car continues racking up emissions, a Tesla pays off its environmental debt. After a few years of driving, the lower emissions during use usually outweigh the higher emissions from production. How long this takes depends on how much the car is driven and how clean the local electricity grid is. A Tesla is only as clean as the electricity that charges it. If you charge your car in an area where electricity comes mostly from coal, the emissions just come from the power plant instead of the tailpipe.

A graph comparing the total emissions, including those from manufacturing and operation, that come out of a Tesla and a Toyota Camry over five years.

Even so, electric cars, including those made by Tesla, still come out on top. Large power plants are more efficient and regulated than millions of individual car engines. As less harmful energy sources like wind and solar become more popular, electric cars will become cleaner without any changes to the vehicles themselves. Recently, Tesla has leaned into this idea by promoting solar panels and home battery systems. They have designed a closed loop where people’s houses generate clean energy that their cars can run on. Though this is not realistic for everyone yet, it shows how promising electric cars really are. As we make other kinds of environmental progress, electric vehicles become even more sustainable. Gas cars have nowhere near that amount of potential.

As we stated earlier, electric motors are also much more efficient than gas engines. Most gas cars waste a large portion of their energy in the form of heat. Electric motors, on the other hand, convert much more of their energy right into movement. In other words, going electric means you’d need less energy to travel the same distance. Much like our phones, Tesla vehicles receive software updates that can improve efficiency over time. It is bizarre to think that your car can get better while sitting in your driveway. This makes it a more environmentally-conscious choice because the longer a car stays on the road, the less wastage there is.

One of the main concerns people have about electric cars is what happens to the battery at the end of its life. Tesla batteries are designed to last a long time, often hundreds of thousands of miles, but they do reach a breaking point. Although batteries can technically be recycled, this process has not been perfected or made widespread. Without robust recycling systems, old batteries could become yet another environmental issue. Thankfully, battery technology and recycling methods are improving by the day because there is a financial incentive to recover valuable materials like lithium and nickel. Oil, on the other hand, can only be burned once.

In the end, electric cars are not a panacea. Even if every car on the road went electric, our environmental problems would not magically go away. Electric cars still need roads, parking lots, and heaps of energy and resources to be manufactured and operated. Make no mistake, as public transportation, biking, and walking are still far better options than either type of car, whether it be gas or electric.