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Look under the hood of a Tesla, and you'll understand why maintenance costs are lower. There is still a lot that can go wrong on the body, notably the infamous
by samcheng 8y ago
Look under the hood of a Tesla, and you'll understand why maintenance costs are lower.
There is still a lot that can go wrong on the body, notably the infamous door handles, but the power train is just much, much simpler. Notably, no oil changes, no gas, and due to regenerative braking, the physical brakes last a lot longer. Longer-term, while there is a coolant change required, there is no timing belt replacement, no spark plugs, no catalytic converter / muffler, etc.
The batteries themselves have seemed to hold up relatively well, but in the 10+ year range, that is indeed a concern, as they represent a large fraction of the value of the car. But prices are dropping, and maybe a cheaper and better battery pack can be retrofitted when the time comes?
- toomuchtodo 8y ago> The batteries themselves have seemed to hold up relatively well, but in the 10+ year range, that is indeed a concern, as they represent a large fraction of the value of the car. Current Tesla Model S fleet data is showing substantial longevity (80% initial storage capacity retained) well past 10 years/500k+ miles [1] [2]. This can be credited to their thermal management system and an advanced battery management system. [1] https://electrek.co/2018/04/14/tesla-battery-degradation-data/ https://electrek.co/2018/04/14/tesla-battery-degradation-dat... [2] https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/16/tesla-battery-packs-live-longer/ https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/16/tesla-battery-packs-live...
- samcheng 8y agoThe Model S was released in the summer of 2012; we don't know what the batteries will look like after 10 years yet. I agree that they will likely still be serviceable, though.