100,000 Miles on the Tesla

I've been a car guy my entire life.

Toy cars were my childhood obsession. As a teenager, I somehow took obsessed to the next level, and literally memorized tracts of my favorite auto repair manuals. (Yes, I had favorite repair manuals). I slightly downregulated these obsessions in my middle years, though I was still keenly aware of the cars around me, gimbaling to lock in on an unfamiliar model or automotive rarity.

This Tesla Model Y has been on many roadtrips.

When the Tesla Model S came out in 2012, I was swept off my feet by its aesthetics, performance and the underlying technology. Initially Tesla sightings were infrequent, and I employed the unproven technique of staring/not-staring in an inept attempt to avoid stalking the early adopters. Within a few years, however, the more-affordable Model 3 opened the sales flood gates, and it suddenly seemed like Teslas were everywhere.

The "Idiot Book" was my favorite repair manual.

By the time the Tesla Model Y (the small sport utility) came out in early-2020, my smoldering obsession had rekindled into its fullest expression. I watched videos of Teslas getting dissembled by teams of engineers, and noted every interesting feature and creative engineering solution. I knew better than to purchase a car in its first year of production, though by the latter part of 2020, I was more brainstem than prefrontal cortex, and fully fused my attention onto purchasing a Tesla Model Y.

By the end of 2020, I was happily driving a Model Y, and am now nearly 100,000 miles into the EV experiment. I fully expected to love my Tesla, and confirmation bias be damned, am happy to report that it’s lived up to my vaulted expectations. The Tesla has been a very easy car to own in so many ways.

Before describing the ownership experience, a brief note about the "politics" of driving an EV.  In a recent poll, 60% of Republican respondents that they would never drive any electric car, and many Democrats report that they’d never drive a Tesla. The Tesla crosses the proverbial aisle to offend some people on both the Left and the Right. I'm also going to steer clear of debates about the environmental cost of building a Tesla, as I think the evidence suggests that this "cost" is similar among ICE (internal combustion engine) powered cars and EVs. In addition, I'm going to steer clear of discussions of electricity; other than roadtrips, this EV is now powered by the sun. Despite a disdain that seems to transcend our fractured political landscape, owning a Tesla has been a positive experience.

Range: I’m starting with discussing the range of my Tesla, since many people express concern about the ranges of EVs. In brief, range has been… a non-issue. With a 300+ mile range and a robust charging network, only once did I come close to running out of charge. The Tesla Model Y is a great road trip vehicle, and this car has been to Massachusetts, New Mexico and multiple times to rural Colorado; there has never a problem with range or charging. The one time I nearly ran out of charge was on a frigid Minnesota morning, though that situation was more about ignoring the car's prompts than about its everyday utility.

Loss of Range (Battery Degradation): Battery longevity was one of my primary concerns about the Tesla, and I've kept a close eye on its range. The batteries in my phones and laptops consistently degraded over just a few years, and the technology of an EV didn't seem that different. It seemed a foregone conclusion that an EV's range would decline, perhaps rendering the vehicle less useable? Well, it turned out that concern was unfounded; in 100K of driving, my range is only 3% less than when it was new. This is likely due to how the Tesla keeps the batteries from getting hot during use and charging, as it's the heat that is said to be hardest on battery longevity. Unlike my phone and laptop, which are noticeably warm while charging, the Tesla's battery temperature is kept within a narrow operating window, which is said to be the secret to their long life. Whatever the reason, in 100K of driving, the Tesla's range is functionally indistinguishable from when it was new.

Cost of Ownership: Startlingly low. This car has required virtually no maintenance. There are no oil changes, nor tune-ups. No fluids to top-up, flush nor replace. In 100,000 miles, I’ve had two mechanical failures; a lubricating pump in the rear differential failed early on, and later the glove box latch failed. The former was covered under warranty, and the latter cost less than a tune-up. In neither case was I nor anybody else inconvenienced. This car has been exceedingly reliable.

Powered by the sun.

It’s also been very inexpensive to run. Electricity is cheap, particularly in comparison to gas. By setting the charging to occur when rates are lowest (7-cents per kilowatt-hour), in 2023 the cost to “fuel” the Tesla was less than 5-cents per mile. In 2024 the cost will be far lower, as the newly-installed solar panels on the roof of the house now power this two-Tesla family. The Model Y is also easy on tires. I'm currently on the second set of tires, which seem to wear at the same rate of my previous ICE-powered cars.

Daily Use: The Tesla Model Y has been easy to live with. It's a spacious car that comfortably hauls humans, pets and their stuff.

Somewhat surprisingly, one of the first things I noticed in driving this Tesla was how easy it was to keep clean. Without the crevasses accompanying the myriad buttons and goo-gaws on most cars’ dashboards, it’s easy to keep the minimalist interior clean. Particularly when traveling with pets, I appreciate the ease of wiping down the interior's uncomplicated surfaces. And this minimalist interior is largely related to the simplicity of an EV’s drivetrain.

Without a fuel tank that needs to be tucked within the wheelbase, nor a bulky engine and transmission suspended forward of the passenger compartment, an EV provides designers more or less of a clean slate. This clean slate affords designers the opportunities to rethink the assumptions that have saddled designers and manufacturers for 100+ years, including the shape and layout of the passenger compartment. More than any other EV I’ve seen, it seems like Tesla engineers came to the proverbial drafting board unfettered by tradition and sunk cost. The result is a spare and highly functional design that works well in daily living.

There is ample storage fore and aft. In the absence of an engine in the engine compartment, there is a front trunk (frunk). And in the absence of a fuel tank in the rear of the car, there's a cargo area under the rear trunk. In classic SUV styling, the rear seats fold down, which forms a capacious and flat cargo area. I've hauled all sorts of random stuff in this Tesla, including more than a few rowing machines, skis and bikes!

The Tesla Model Y has also been a good snow car. Its weight distribution is nearly perfect (see above), and the all-wheel-drive provides good traction. It handles well and accelerates quickly in all seasons.

Summary: In sum, the first 100K miles of Tesla ownership have been resoundingly positive. While there are people questioning the utility of EVs or pining for hydrogen-powered cars, I have a hard time envisioning another power system that works as well as electricity does. For a car guy, this EV has checked every box. Having 100% of the car's torque available at a moment's notice makes the car nimble and quick. And without the noise of an engine and drivetrain, this power is wonderfully devoid of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). And as renewable electricity production continues to scale, the already low carbon footprint of EVs will continue to decrease. This car guy looks forward to many more trouble-free miles in an EV!