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Tesla is hoping for their cars to last a million miles. The electric motors should already be able to do that. If they can continue with not changing the comple

Tesla is hoping for their cars to last a million miles. The electric motors should already be able to do that. If they can continue with not changing the complete car every 5 years, like most other car manufacturers do (to make older versions look dated and drive sales of new cars), you might be able to figure out everything that breaks before a million miles and fix them. This would be a real improvement on the amount of pollution/mile that comes from manufacture of a car.

perl4ever 7y ago
Gas powered cars in recent decades generally don't die because the engine died. It's structural rust, the interior falls apart, the electronics are obsolete and probably broken, gadgets fail, the safety features are outdated and may no longer work, people refuse to spend more than the car is worth on repairs...statistically, cars get scrapped around 15 years old at something over 200Kmi. Teslas even if they are designed with the best intentions will have these problems. And there's always the possibility they won't last near as long, because they're basically expensive iPhones and sold to people are simply not the sort who drive Corollas.
- speedgoose 7y ago
  The Model S and Model X are aluminum so the rust isn't a big problem. Parts availability perhaps more. We will see how the cheaper Tesla in steel like the Model 3 will do over time but if they hold well, they may be a good cheap car in 10 years or more. In Norway, where the number of Tesla per habita is very high, the average car age is about 10 years. Also, it's likely that the batteries will get a second life as home energy storage when no one would want to keep the car running anymore.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    One (speculative) way to look at it, is that with ICE cars, there is this conceptual division, for the manufacturers or the customers, between the propulsion, and all the electronic gadgets. It is understood that the engine is what's essential but many of the electronic gadgets and features will probably die over the years and the car will remain driveable. I bet that with a Tesla, because it's electric and there's no dividing line in everyone's minds between systems, that it will fail according to the usual pattern with electronics, and the motor and batteries won't be isolated from that.

perl4ever 7y ago

Gas powered cars in recent decades generally don't die because the engine died. It's structural rust, the interior falls apart, the electronics are obsolete and probably broken, gadgets fail, the safety features are outdated and may no longer work, people refuse to spend more than the car is worth on repairs...statistically, cars get scrapped around 15 years old at something over 200Kmi. Teslas even if they are designed with the best intentions will have these problems. And there's always the possibility they won't last near as long, because they're basically expensive iPhones and sold to people are simply not the sort who drive Corollas.

speedgoose 7y ago
The Model S and Model X are aluminum so the rust isn't a big problem. Parts availability perhaps more. We will see how the cheaper Tesla in steel like the Model 3 will do over time but if they hold well, they may be a good cheap car in 10 years or more. In Norway, where the number of Tesla per habita is very high, the average car age is about 10 years. Also, it's likely that the batteries will get a second life as home energy storage when no one would want to keep the car running anymore.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  One (speculative) way to look at it, is that with ICE cars, there is this conceptual division, for the manufacturers or the customers, between the propulsion, and all the electronic gadgets. It is understood that the engine is what's essential but many of the electronic gadgets and features will probably die over the years and the car will remain driveable. I bet that with a Tesla, because it's electric and there's no dividing line in everyone's minds between systems, that it will fail according to the usual pattern with electronics, and the motor and batteries won't be isolated from that.