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I wonder what is the reliability of a used Tesla. Is only the battery failing after some time? I heard that any hit to the battery may make it burn in some time

I wonder what is the reliability of a used Tesla. Is only the battery failing after some time? I heard that any hit to the battery may make it burn in some time later which is a huge issue, but don't all EV have battery in the chassis? I can't imagine people not buying used car because the owner of the company said something. Especially if the car is top high innovation in EV

kelseyfrog 1y ago
Besides TCO, there's a reputational discount: many buyers don't want to be "the person with the Nazi-salute guy's car," so resale values drop.
- pixxel 1y ago
  [dead]
- scarab92 1y ago
  I think that perspective mostly exists amongst the chronically online. I don’t see it much in the real world. All EVs depreciate quickly, Tesla isn’t unique in this regard. The reason is simply that the market is currently higher income earning early adopters. That customer base is willing to pay the premium for the newest model, and upgrades quickly when newer models come out. This results in a large of supply of 3 year old vehicles, but not much demand. In time we’ll see used EVs depreciate at rates more similar to ICE vehicles, as mainstream buyers, who view EVs as a car rather than a tech product, enter the market.
  - anon22981 1y ago
    Tesla definitely has suffered a huge blow to it’s reputation (or several of them) which is evident in the EU new car sales. Maybe your take is true if you are non-EU, but it definitely isn’t true in the slightest in Europe and is pure copium.
  - ModernMech 1y ago
    > I don’t see it much in the real world. Maybe you missed it, but there was a whole period in the Spring when people were in the real world protesting in front of actual Tesla dealerships. These were people like my parents, who don't even have social media, yet they were dragging themselves and their protest signs to the local Tesla dealerships every weekend. People got so mad they were setting Teslas on fire! When people are so pissed they're firebombing dealerships, you can't pretend it's just online murmurings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Takedown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Takedown
  - kelseyfrog 1y ago
    > The reason is simply that the market is currently higher income earning early adopters. I'm not sure this has a basis in reality. There is no supporting evidence for it. On the contrary, there is evidence that both Musk's favorability rating[1] and Tesla's brand reputation[2][3] have nosedived over the last few years and especially after Jan 2025. If you want to claim an income-value-market cause, you'll have to provide more compelling evidence. 1. https://www.natesilver.net/p/elon-musk-polls-popularity-nate-silver-bulletin https://www.natesilver.net/p/elon-musk-polls-popularity-nate... 2. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-favorabilty-america-us-new-low-yougov-survey-data-2025-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-favorabilty-america-us... 3. https://www.axios.com/2025/05/21/tesla-s-tumbling-brand-reputation-future-of-mobility https://www.axios.com/2025/05/21/tesla-s-tumbling-brand-repu...
- arresin 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - czottmann 1y ago
    It isn't. I'm from Germany, and Musk doing the Nazi salute has widely made the rounds. Lots of people are appalled, so are people in other parts of the EU, and here are some actually numbers on that: https://electrek.co/2025/08/05/tesla-sales-in-europe-are-in-free-fall-and-the-pain-is-just-starting/ https://electrek.co/2025/08/05/tesla-sales-in-europe-are-in-... The new car demand has dropped like a brick, and I'm quite sure used car sales have, too.
    - arresin 1y ago
      Exhausting. Have you seen the original video? It’s an obvious lie.
      - tasuki 1y ago
        I have seen the original video. However charitably I tried to look at it, it looked very much like a nazi salute to me. I watched Herr Hitler doing his salute for comparison, it looked eerily similar to me. How did you interpret the original video?
      - czottmann 1y ago
        I've seen that video. I've also watched his complete disregard for other people (DOGE, anyone), seen his ideas of "free speech", witnessed Mechahitler, and Twitter being turned into the fascist club house. That fucking salute was one thing. He knows what he's doing or trying to do. Many people in Europe are appalled by what they see. So they stopped buying his shit. Fair game, this being goddamn free market capitalism and all.
      - kelseyfrog 1y ago
        I see no salient differences between the two. What differences do you see between them? How do the differences contribute to what you see as a meaningful difference between them?
beardedscotsman 1y ago
Tesla isn’t the only company making great EVs EU is now full of other impressive machines and BYD is also being out impressive vehicles. Tesla, well reputation is trash. Company success is questionable. I’d rather by an EV from anyone right now than Tesla.
- p0w3n3d 1y ago
  I'm a big fan of Tesla since the first time I've seen it during my trip to London. There were two model S standing next to each other. the car and the chassis. It's been said that the chassis (with the battery and motors) is enough for this car to ride turn and brake. That's when I fell in love with it. I really have trouble cancelling something just because some guy is doing some things. There were gazillion of people working on it and I have feeling that I would cancel them too, but they are innocent really
rapsey 1y ago
evclinic which repairs EVs has a great article about it: https://evclinic.eu/2024/11/03/which-used-ev-to-buy-a-beginners-guide/ https://evclinic.eu/2024/11/03/which-used-ev-to-buy-a-beginn... Tesla according to them is a great used car to buy. Not all models however. > Based on our experience and that of our colleagues’ labs at 15-20 different locations worldwide, we have concluded that the battery is the last concern on the list during the first 10 years of an EV’s life, with some vehicles covering a large number of miles with the original battery system. The most common failures within 10 years of using an EV are: 1. Electric motors, 2. OBC chargers, 3. DCDC/inverters, and only in fourth place, batteries.
- p0w3n3d 1y ago
  Thank you. Im thinking of buying this car primarily because of its exceptionally low price but the cost of repair scares me. I wonder if the engines are repairable or as it becomes custom nowadays in all the cars - only replaceable.
general1726 1y ago
Spare parts are a problem, especially on older cars which were constantly updated (no locked hardware design). This has been great feature for first buyers, but disaster for everyone else after them.
ndsipa_pomu 1y ago
> I can't imagine people not buying used car because the owner of the company said something That's a nice way of trivialising what Musk has been doing. It's not just what he says, but his Nazi salutes (also his destruction of the U.S. government) and his general racism and politics. Do you remember the Ratner's Jewellery collapse? That was people completely boycotting Ratner's due to the owner/CEO, Gerald Ratner comparing his company's products to the quality of a prawn sandwich.

kelseyfrog 1y ago

Besides TCO, there's a reputational discount: many buyers don't want to be "the person with the Nazi-salute guy's car," so resale values drop.

pixxel 1y ago
[dead]
scarab92 1y ago
I think that perspective mostly exists amongst the chronically online. I don’t see it much in the real world. All EVs depreciate quickly, Tesla isn’t unique in this regard. The reason is simply that the market is currently higher income earning early adopters. That customer base is willing to pay the premium for the newest model, and upgrades quickly when newer models come out. This results in a large of supply of 3 year old vehicles, but not much demand. In time we’ll see used EVs depreciate at rates more similar to ICE vehicles, as mainstream buyers, who view EVs as a car rather than a tech product, enter the market.
- anon22981 1y ago
  Tesla definitely has suffered a huge blow to it’s reputation (or several of them) which is evident in the EU new car sales. Maybe your take is true if you are non-EU, but it definitely isn’t true in the slightest in Europe and is pure copium.
- ModernMech 1y ago
  > I don’t see it much in the real world. Maybe you missed it, but there was a whole period in the Spring when people were in the real world protesting in front of actual Tesla dealerships. These were people like my parents, who don't even have social media, yet they were dragging themselves and their protest signs to the local Tesla dealerships every weekend. People got so mad they were setting Teslas on fire! When people are so pissed they're firebombing dealerships, you can't pretend it's just online murmurings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Takedown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Takedown
- kelseyfrog 1y ago
  > The reason is simply that the market is currently higher income earning early adopters. I'm not sure this has a basis in reality. There is no supporting evidence for it. On the contrary, there is evidence that both Musk's favorability rating[1] and Tesla's brand reputation[2][3] have nosedived over the last few years and especially after Jan 2025. If you want to claim an income-value-market cause, you'll have to provide more compelling evidence. 1. https://www.natesilver.net/p/elon-musk-polls-popularity-nate-silver-bulletin https://www.natesilver.net/p/elon-musk-polls-popularity-nate... 2. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-favorabilty-america-us-new-low-yougov-survey-data-2025-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-favorabilty-america-us... 3. https://www.axios.com/2025/05/21/tesla-s-tumbling-brand-reputation-future-of-mobility https://www.axios.com/2025/05/21/tesla-s-tumbling-brand-repu...
arresin 1y ago
[flagged]
- czottmann 1y ago
  It isn't. I'm from Germany, and Musk doing the Nazi salute has widely made the rounds. Lots of people are appalled, so are people in other parts of the EU, and here are some actually numbers on that: https://electrek.co/2025/08/05/tesla-sales-in-europe-are-in-free-fall-and-the-pain-is-just-starting/ https://electrek.co/2025/08/05/tesla-sales-in-europe-are-in-... The new car demand has dropped like a brick, and I'm quite sure used car sales have, too.
  - arresin 1y ago
    Exhausting. Have you seen the original video? It’s an obvious lie.
    - tasuki 1y ago
      I have seen the original video. However charitably I tried to look at it, it looked very much like a nazi salute to me. I watched Herr Hitler doing his salute for comparison, it looked eerily similar to me. How did you interpret the original video?
    - czottmann 1y ago
      I've seen that video. I've also watched his complete disregard for other people (DOGE, anyone), seen his ideas of "free speech", witnessed Mechahitler, and Twitter being turned into the fascist club house. That fucking salute was one thing. He knows what he's doing or trying to do. Many people in Europe are appalled by what they see. So they stopped buying his shit. Fair game, this being goddamn free market capitalism and all.
    - kelseyfrog 1y ago
      I see no salient differences between the two. What differences do you see between them? How do the differences contribute to what you see as a meaningful difference between them?

beardedscotsman 1y ago

Tesla isn’t the only company making great EVs EU is now full of other impressive machines and BYD is also being out impressive vehicles. Tesla, well reputation is trash. Company success is questionable. I’d rather by an EV from anyone right now than Tesla.

p0w3n3d 1y ago
I'm a big fan of Tesla since the first time I've seen it during my trip to London. There were two model S standing next to each other. the car and the chassis. It's been said that the chassis (with the battery and motors) is enough for this car to ride turn and brake. That's when I fell in love with it. I really have trouble cancelling something just because some guy is doing some things. There were gazillion of people working on it and I have feeling that I would cancel them too, but they are innocent really

rapsey 1y ago

evclinic which repairs EVs has a great article about it: https://evclinic.eu/2024/11/03/which-used-ev-to-buy-a-beginners-guide/ https://evclinic.eu/2024/11/03/which-used-ev-to-buy-a-beginn... Tesla according to them is a great used car to buy. Not all models however. > Based on our experience and that of our colleagues’ labs at 15-20 different locations worldwide, we have concluded that the battery is the last concern on the list during the first 10 years of an EV’s life, with some vehicles covering a large number of miles with the original battery system. The most common failures within 10 years of using an EV are: 1. Electric motors, 2. OBC chargers, 3. DCDC/inverters, and only in fourth place, batteries.

p0w3n3d 1y ago
Thank you. Im thinking of buying this car primarily because of its exceptionally low price but the cost of repair scares me. I wonder if the engines are repairable or as it becomes custom nowadays in all the cars - only replaceable.

general1726 1y ago

Spare parts are a problem, especially on older cars which were constantly updated (no locked hardware design). This has been great feature for first buyers, but disaster for everyone else after them.

ndsipa_pomu 1y ago

> I can't imagine people not buying used car because the owner of the company said something That's a nice way of trivialising what Musk has been doing. It's not just what he says, but his Nazi salutes (also his destruction of the U.S. government) and his general racism and politics. Do you remember the Ratner's Jewellery collapse? That was people completely boycotting Ratner's due to the owner/CEO, Gerald Ratner comparing his company's products to the quality of a prawn sandwich.