Tesla Model S, photo by Damian B Oh. CC-BY-SA 4.0. (https://bit.ly/GETTeslaModelS)

George Harvey

How long will and electric car last? To find the answer, we had to wait for old electric vehicles. Now, however, we are finding more and more old EVs, and the questions are getting answered.

In the past, diesels had a reputation for outlasting other vehicles, sometimes getting more than 300,000 miles. It was not common for a car to last that long.

Recently, we heard about a car that had upwards of 430,000 miles on it, without any repairs other than preventative maintenance. It could do so much better than earlier cars because it is electric. And this example gives us a gauge to measure by, to compare EVs with cars powered by diesel or gasoline.

The car in question is a 2016 Tesla Model S, which was bought by a man who has used it as a taxi in central England. It is by no means unique, and in fact, the same man bought another Tesla Model S shortly after the first one, and it now has a bit over 375,000 miles on it. He is not claiming to have broken any records with these cars, despite the fact that they have 800,000 miles between them. He just bought the cars and used them.

He does have specific reasons not to give either of these particular models up. For one thing, he has unlimited charging for life, provided by Tesla. Also, Tesla has had very good warranties on them, to the point that the first he bought is just about to reach the end of its eight-year warranty period. But the fact is, there has been no great amount of work done on either car, aside from preventative maintenance, and they both look like they are ready for quite a lot more driving. These cars have not been babied. Though they have been cared for, they have also been used for work.

However, there is one thing that has notably degraded, and that is the car’s range. Originally, this might have been 285 miles per charge, depending on how fast it is driven, the temperature, and so on. With battery degradation, about 65 miles has been cut from this, so the battery is good for roughly 220 miles of range. The battery is fully charged multiple times every day, the owner of the car says. Not only is the battery original, but so is the entire drive train.

The value of the car is clearest when it is compared with other cars used for similar purpose. In this case, the owner bought the car at a time when Tesla would supply free charging for the lifetime of the vehicle. He said he believes that has a value of £7,000 to £10,000 ($9,000 to $12,900) per year, per car to him. The fact that he is driving EVs, instead of a gasoline-powered car, means that amount is only about half of the cost he would be paying to drive on gasoline. In other words, he would be paying £14,000 to £20,000 (about $18,000 to $25,800) per year if he were burning gasoline. But that is just fuel cost.

One of the reasons an electric car can drive so far on the original motor, or motors, is that its drivetrain has only a handful of moving parts. The drive train of a gasoline-powered car has hundreds of parts, many of which need maintenance. The simplicity of the EV has practical value.

Unfortunately, those who want to keep us dependent on oil and gas always seem to be disparaging EVs by quoting “facts” that happen not to be true. For example, they often claim that the battery in an EV like the Tesla Model S will only last for about 70,000 miles, and then it suddenly gives up. And they will claim that replacing the battery might cost more than the original cost of the car. I cannot say what motivates such claims, but I have never seen such behavior reported for any actual car. And incidentally, the owner of the Tesla with 430,000 miles had a car that was still under warranty, so if that had happened, it would have been Tesla’s problem, not his.

The facts point to electric vehicles being much less expensive to drive in just about every way. And that is good for a long time.