Hey Sharon!
According to the owners I have spoken to, Teslas have a range of around 600km, which I think is fairly comparable to most gas tanks. As to the source of energy, I think that depends on where and how the energy is sourced. For NZ we are lucky in that 87% of our total energy capacity is sourced from renewal resources, and that 13% of fossil fuel resources is enacted only under extreme stress. The range anxiety you refer to certainly applied to the Nissan leaf, and several other brands that were designed for the urban environment. The series 1 had a range of only 120km. The series 2 that I drive has a range of 201km and the latest series 3 will have a range of over 400km, so things on the battery front are improving fast. I have made trips of 400km out of Auckland with no problem getting free charging. As to the materials used, batteries contain a lot of valuable materials and they are recycled by the manufacturers who offer a rebate on new batteries. For example the leafs can update their batteries to the series 3 for about $4k. By the way a battery will work for between 10-15 years before it should be replaced so no-one has really had to do an upgrade yet.
The great news over here in NZ is that the government is injecting tens of millions into building an electric charging infrastructure with the aim of getting tourists to travel the whole of NZ by electric vehicle - some tourist companies are already trialing electric camper vans. NZ imports every drop of oil and petrol so we are uniquely placed to benefit from gong electric. In quite a few regions the charging is free for the next few years and there are no road taxes for electric vehicles until at least 2022. So there are many benefits to being an early adopter. With only 20 moving parts (compared to 2,000 parts and explosions in an I.C.E.) the main costs will be breaks, tyres and windscreen wipers! So far I have driven 3,500km at total cost of $8.50. I love electric cars!!!