DMV ALTERNATIVE FUEL FEE

[TyPope]

TLDR: Read the RED text.

Just got my annual renewal notice from the GA tag office, look at the difference between my Cybertruck and Honda CR-V (could be any ICE car, it’s a flat fee in GA

Great! Example Time. Or, if you prefer, Fun with numbers!

We'll take best case scenario for the CRV... It gets 34 mpg. $0.331 per gallon / 34 mpg = $0.0097 per mile in tax for roads.

Your Cybertruck costs $234.97 more because it's an EV (the rest is probably for other reasons but this is the "Alt Fuel Fee")

$234.97 / 24,223 miles = $0.0097 per mile.

So, the Cybertruck and the CRV have the same cost per year if you drive 24,223 miles. After that, the Cybertruck costs $0 per mile but the CRV still racks up it's almost $0.01 per mile.

NOTE: I was trying to show that we were being wildly unfairly charged fees but I don't really think that's the case. Sure, if you don't hit that 24,000 miles, you are getting the shaft, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

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[mstatkus]

WA they assume I'm driving like 15,000 miles a year and instantly hit me with the associated gas tax for roads. This is like $290 or so. Also like when I sold my Y due to forest fires last year the sale was delayed and the tags were expiring. I opted to renew thinking I'd get a refund -- they did not refund even though I had proof of out of state sale.
Moral of the story - never let $ leave your wallet and just buy a temp tag or bat your eyes at the officer that pulls you over for driving around on expired tags

 

[Baldyloxx]

The government just did away with dealerships being able to make bogus ‘fees’…. Only for them to start gather it…

Lame

 

[Loudness]

Great! Example Time. Or, if you prefer, Fun with numbers!

We'll take best case scenario for the CRV... It gets 34 mpg. $0.331 per gallon / 34 mpg = $0.0097 per mile in tax for roads.

Your Cybertruck costs $234.97 more because it's an EV (the rest is probably for other reasons but this is the "Alt Fuel Fee")

$234.97 / 24,223 miles = $0.0097 per mile.

So, the Cybertruck and the CRV have the same cost per year if you drive 24,223 miles. After that, the Cybertruck costs $0 per mile but the CRV still racks up it's almost $0.01 per mile.

NOTE: I was trying to show that we were being wildly unfairly charged fees but I don't really think that's the case. Sure, if you don't hit that 24,000 miles, you are getting the shaft, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The CR-V gets much closer to 22mpg according to the in-car trip tracker, as it’s primarily used by my wife for short local trips. Since getting the Cybertruck in May 2024, we’ve put a total of ~3000 miles on the CR-V. For the Cybertruck, it has 10,745 miles on it total.

Taxes suck.

 

[TyPope]

The CR-V gets much closer to 22mpg according to the in-car trip tracker, as it’s primarily used by my wife for short local trips. Since getting the Cybertruck in May 2024, we’ve put a total of ~3000 miles on the CR-V. For the Cybertruck, it has 10,745 miles on it total.

Taxes suck.

Yeah, but the roads DO need repairs and upkeep. Every driver or consumer of goods that travel over those roads should help pay the piper one way or another.

Oh, in the case of the CRV getting 22 mpg, the CT and CRV cost the same at 15,664 miles and then the CT is free from then on and the CRV costs 1.5 cents per mile.

 

[pricedm]

The CR-V gets much closer to 22mpg…primarily used by my wife for short local trips. Since getting the Cybertruck in May 2024, we’ve put a total of ~3000 miles on the CR-V. For the Cybertruck, it has 10,745 miles on it total.

Taxes suck.

Sounds like a good use-case to sell the ICEmobile and get another Tesla!

 

[Loudness]

Sounds like a good use-case to sell the ICEmobile and get another Tesla!

I agree! Our next second car will definitely be a Tesla, but for now the CR-V costs us almost nothing to own. It's paid off and has very low maintenance.

I did convince my 78yo mother to ditch her 2022 Hyundai Tucson for a 2026 Model Y AWD last month, she's absolutely thrilled with FSD! (You can see the CR-V in the background, haha)

 

[NICKEM]

I'm here in GA, too, the whole idea of that fee is counterproductive.

There is a desire to encourage people to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles with low or no emissions - not mandate, encourage - through policy, which I think is good policy. Then the government turns around and penalizes the exact behavior they sought to encourage in the first place!

In TX... I pay an extra $250 at the registration annually. It is for the loss of road tax that you are not paying at the gas pump.

 

[Loudness]

In TX... I pay an extra $250 at the registration annually. It is for the loss of road tax that you are not paying at the gas pump.

Yeah, it's the same here in GA as of this year, I posted my actual registration bill earlier in the thread: https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/dmv-alternative-fuel-fee.47841/post-30662160

I understand why they are doing it, but it's still counterproductive if the intent is to encourage zero emission vehicles, which bring other benefits - most notably improved local air quality.

 

[kdn]

Sure, except some people are "more fair" than others.

Texas collects ~$4B in fuel tax, but spends $14B on roads. Even that $4B isn't fully dedicated to roads, since the Texas Constitution states that "three-quarters of the state’s motor fuels tax revenue is used to build and maintain public roadways", and the rest supports public education.

The Federal "Highway Trust Fund" collects about $40B, but has been running a deficit for decades, for obvious reasons: gas consumption has leveled off due to higher MPG standards, and the value of the tax has been eroded by inflation.

The US spends about $250B/year on roads, but the fuel excise taxes provide only about half that. There was always going to be a funding shortfall even if zero EVs were ever sold.

Flying Tesla would degrade roads!!!

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