TL;DR
- A time-of-use (TOU) electricity plan charges less per kWh at night and more in the late afternoon and evening. A Tesla can be told to charge only in the cheap hours.
- On PG&E's EV2-A plan in California, off-peak power costs about 22.6 cents per kWh against 41.1 cents at the winter peak and 53.8 cents at the summer peak.
- For a Model Y driven 1,000 miles a month, that is about $62 off-peak against about $113 to $147 if every mile were charged at the peak.
- In the car, go to Controls, then Schedule, and set a charge window that sits inside your utility's off-peak hours.
- Superchargers ignore your schedule, and a few plug-in situations start charging right away, so check the charging screen the first few nights.
Home charging is already the cheapest way to fuel a Tesla, but when you charge can matter almost as much as where. Many utilities sell electricity at different prices through the day, and a Tesla has a built-in schedule that lets it wait for the cheap hours. This guide explains how time-of-use rates work, runs the numbers on a real plan and shows how to set the car up, using utility rate sheets and Tesla's owner's manuals as of November 8, 2026.
What a time-of-use rate is
On a flat plan, every kWh costs the same whenever you use it. On a time-of-use plan, the price depends on the clock. Power is usually cheapest when demand is low, such as overnight, and most expensive in a late afternoon and evening window. The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center notes that home charging costs depend on the time of day you charge and that some utilities offer residential time-of-use rates for EV owners.
An EV is a good fit for this kind of plan because it usually charges while parked overnight. If the car charges only in the cheap hours, you pay the low price on most of your driving.
A real example: PG&E's EV2-A plan
Rates vary by utility, so we picked one large, published plan to show the size of the gap. PG&E in California offers a home EV2-A rate that covers the whole house and the car together. Its rate schedule sets the price windows every day, weekends and holidays included: peak from 4 to 9 p.m., partial peak from 3 to 4 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight, and off-peak at all other hours, so midnight to 3 p.m. Summer runs June 1 through September 30 and winter October 1 through May 31.
| PG&E EV2-A period | Hours (every day) | Summer price per kWh | Winter price per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off-peak | Midnight to 3 p.m. | $0.22558 | $0.22558 |
| Partial peak | 3 to 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight | $0.42760 | $0.39428 |
| Peak | 4 to 9 p.m. | $0.53809 | $0.41099 |
These are PG&E's total bundled energy rates in the schedule effective June 1, 2026. The plan also carries a monthly base services charge that depends on income tier (79.3 cents a day for customers who don't qualify for its income-based tiers), and it applies no matter when you charge, so it does not change the comparison below. PG&E also says customers whose use ran over 800% of their baseline allowance in the last 12 months are not eligible for EV2-A.
Worked example: a Model Y charged off-peak
Take a 2026 Model Y Premium All-Wheel Drive in PG&E territory, driven 1,000 miles a month (12,000 a year). EPA rates it at 27.4 kWh per 100 miles on fueleconomy.gov, measured at the wall so charging losses are already counted (the figure in GetTesla's lineup data, last checked October 4, 2026).
- 1,000 miles at 27.4 kWh per 100 miles is 274 kWh a month.
- Charged entirely off-peak: 274 kWh at $0.22558 is about $61.81 a month.
- Charged entirely at the winter peak: 274 kWh at $0.41099 is about $112.61 a month.
- Charged entirely at the summer peak: 274 kWh at $0.53809 is about $147.44 a month.
Over a year, all off-peak comes to about $742. All at the peak (eight winter months and four summer months) would be about $1,491, so the schedule is worth roughly $749 a year on this plan. Few people would charge only at the peak, so here is a fairer yardstick: California's average residential price of 33.25 cents per kWh (EIA, January to July 2026, as read for GetTesla's state data on October 4, 2026) would make the same driving about $91 a month, or $1,093 a year. Charging off-peak on EV2-A comes in about $350 a year below that average.
Your numbers will differ with your utility, your car and your miles. Our guide to Wh/mi and what charging costs per mile shows how to use your own car's efficiency, and our state-by-state home charging cost guide covers flat-rate averages. To run your own figures, put your price per kWh and your miles into the charging calculator and compare your off-peak price against your current rate.
How to set a Tesla to charge off-peak
Every current Tesla has the same tool. Tesla's owner's manuals for Model Y, Model 3 and Cybertruck describe a Scheduled Precondition and Charge feature, reached from Controls, then Schedule, and also from the Climate and Charging screens and the Tesla app.
- Park at home. Touch Controls, then Schedule, and pick your saved Home location (or Current Location, which only works when you return to the same spot).
- Touch Charge and set the window. On EV2-A, a start time of midnight keeps every kWh off-peak, and an End by time before 3 p.m. keeps it there.
- Turn on Repeat Weekly. Tesla's manual says a schedule without it runs once and then switches itself off.
- Touch Create, plug in as usual and check that the charging screen says the charge is scheduled. Tesla's charging instructions say the charge port light shows solid blue when the car is connected but waiting on a schedule.
You can also set only an End by time, and the car works out when to start so it reaches your charge limit just before you leave. Tesla recommends this even where off-peak rates don't apply, because a battery that finishes early cools down and needs energy to warm back up. Make sure the start time the car picks still lands in your cheap hours; on a short off-peak window, setting both a start and an end time is safer. Our guide to Scheduled Departure covers the preconditioning side, and our charge limit guide covers what level to set.
Three things that can catch you out
Some plug-ins start charging right away
Tesla's manual lists cases where a scheduled charge starts at once when you plug in: during a scheduled charge window, up to 6 hours after a scheduled start with no End by time, when the next scheduled charge is more than 18 hours away and not on the current day, and when there isn't enough time to reach the limit by the End by time. If you plug in at 6 p.m. on a day with no schedule, you could be charging at the peak. Glance at the charging screen after you plug in.
Superchargers ignore the schedule
The manual says scheduled charging cannot be used with fast chargers, including Superchargers, and any schedule is ignored there. Superchargers have their own pricing; our piece on Supercharger time-of-day prices explains it.
The window has to fit your charger
A slow outlet may not refill a long day's driving inside the off-peak hours. Our guide to home charging times on 120V and 240V shows how many miles per hour each adds.
Before you switch plans
Check whether a plan covers the whole house or needs a second meter for the car. PG&E's EV-B plan, for example, meters the car separately. A whole-house plan such as EV2-A prices your dryer and air conditioning by the clock too, so look at your household use first.
What to do
- Look up your utility's EV or time-of-use plan and note the off-peak hours and price.
- Run your price and your miles through the charging calculator to see what you would save.
- If you switch, set Controls, then Schedule, with Repeat Weekly on, and a window inside the off-peak hours.
- Check the first few nights that the car waits (solid blue light) and that your next bill shows the charging in the off-peak line.
Frequently asked questions
Does charging a Tesla at night save money?
Only if your utility charges less at night. On a flat-rate plan the price is the same at any hour. On a time-of-use plan such as PG&E's EV2-A, off-peak power costs about 22.6 cents per kWh against 41.1 to 53.8 cents at the peak.
Does scheduled charging work at a Supercharger?
No. Tesla's owner's manual says charging schedules are ignored at fast chargers, including Superchargers.
