Tesla battery still at 94% after 228,000 miles

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Still got doubts about the battery lifespan of EV's? Owners have been collecting data for years from all over the World. They make for some very interesting stats. One of the high mileage Tesla's with 358,000 KM, or around 228,000 miles, still has around 94% of it's original range after a full charge.

Assuming an EV needs 80% of it's original capacity to work properly (is that the case with a Tesla pack too?) then the battery is only a third of it's way through it's life after 228,000 miles. Obviously different charging patterns, climates and deterioration over age are going to give varied results, but it's a promising proposition so far.

Sourcing: What is the Lifespan of a Tesla Battery and How Long Will it Last? | Teslanomics

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If you don't need the range, but plan on keeping the car for longer than the typical lease period, a larger battery could be worth the investment. It will see shallower discharge cycles, which is better than deep ones for battery life.

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I should imagine if owners ever need to replace their battery, not likely, Tesla will have in place some kind of exchange and/or lease/finance setup to make it easy and affordable. Tesla like to look after their customers. Did you hear about the guy who's steering was behaving strangely? He reported it to Tesla, they told him to bring it the next day. Whilst he was sleeping, they entered the cars data via the internet, found the problem and fixed it there and then from a computer in an office over the air. That's the benefit of buying into a brand that's as much a tech company as an auto maker.

Talking of Tesla, I may be having have a ride in a P100D on the 17th of this Month, with Ludicrous mode too. It's a friends of a friend, i'll be sure to post pics and videos.

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Based on the range reported at over 200 miles per charge, that's about 1000 cycles of the battery pack. I remember a 1983 diesel Maxima that had 864,000 miles driven in 9 years.

220k is a good number of miles, with average vehicle age in the US approaching 12 years old, I wonder how old the example Tesla is? Remember when the AVERAGE age is 12, there are some that are brand new and some, like my Toyota truck that are 36 years old.

What will the capacity be at 12 years age?

I remember the NiMH batteries in the 1st gen Insights were supposed to last 30 years. Our new non replaceable lithium battery smoke detectors are supposed to last 10 years. The Chinese made batteries in a CPU are lucky to see 6-7 years.

Age and charge cycles are the determining factors in battery life, at least as much as vehicle miles. If you pay 90 grand for a car that has no residual value in a decade, that's $9000 a year depreciation or slightly less than $800 a month. That's a lot of money, considering taxes, insurance, license and registration fees are in addition to that monthly cost.

It also assumes you paid CASH or the car. Anyone got a spare 90 grand lying around. If not then tack on another chunk of money for interest.

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Honda messed up on battery management in the Insight and Civic, taking the battery charge past the range which is required for long life. The batteries in phones and laptops are likely abused worse than those hybrid batteries.

Those smoke detector batteries are designed to last 10 years because the radioactive component of the detector is only good for 10 years.

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Advocates raved about the Prius batteries, until those same Prii reached the decade mark and battery failures became commonplace. Now you can buy an 04 locally with a bad battery for practically nothing. The same age Echo, costing half as much new is worth more now.

When I read claims about 94% battery life retention, without age, environment, and other relevant factors included, then I think about the 1964 Mercury Comets doing 100,000 miles at 100 mph. 40 days and 40 nights on the Daytona Speedway.

"On the banks of the rugged big D"

When you read all the claims about 0 maintenance on electric cars, which is total BS, if you believed that hype, then you would EXPECT the longevity to easily overwhelm that of a conventional vehicle.

Even if that were true, which it is not, you still have a $40,000 gas tank (battery) which has a limited life expectancy.

I stand by my previous post. You want to spend $1000 + a month to drive a Tesla, be my guest. I'll tank my $1000 per 30k in fuel costs. Maybe where fuel is much more expensive, WITH MUCH OF THAT COST TAXES, I would feel differently. My 30 k maintenance bill, is 10 quarts of oil and 3 filters.

Used car values are a very good reflection of my point. At the 5 year point of Teslas general use, the used values will reflect the true value of the car. Personally I think a grand a month is a lot of money. At the 10 year point the used value of a Tesla will be a very small percentage of the cost when new and no one will be dumb enough to consider replacing the battery.

The predictions of battery cost dropping dramatically are the crucial factor in the used value of any electric car. If that happens then everything changes, but does anyone think the manufacturers are going to let battery prices drop, even 50% in a decade? The direct cost (materials) might drop but the costs of manufacturing will not drop and as the factory employees age their benefit packages become a major cost factor.

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Only a fool would compare two entirely different segments/markets. There are huge differences between a small, basic, cheap city car and a premium, luxury, large, 7 seater, performance family sedan.

The Model S has a 0-60 time of 2.28 seconds, quicker than the new Bugatti Chiron which is how much? $1,500,000 - $2,000,000? The running costs V's that, or any other Super/Hyper car will be vastly cheaper.

A fairer comparison would be your car V's a Renault Zoe, similar size, price and performance. You always seem to make cost a big factor in the ICE V's EV debates, if you think EV's were introduced to "save money" then you're very wrong. People paying $100k+ for a car worry little about depreciation and/or running costs anyway, and look how much costs have fallen in just a few years.

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Only a fool would spend two years wages on a car

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Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Only a fool would spend two years wages on a car

Who was that then?

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Around me 2005 Prii go for more than 2005 Echos. If you could find a Prius with a failed pack for sale, yes, it will be much cheaper. So would any old car needing major engine or transmission work. The costs for the work and replacement will be about the same.

A CR survey from 2013 reported a 2% replacement rate for the 2005 Prius pack. Outside of Honda, the NiMH packs in hybrids of that era have proven to be robust. Escape hybrid taxis have gone over 300k miles without needing a replacement.
2015 Subaru Outback and Legacy | Video Review - Consumer Reports

There isn't any evidence that a 10 year old Tesla is going to worth nothing at this point. There is some steep depreciation, but that is a fact of luxury models, even without a plug.