Featured Image Credit: Collection/Gado/Contributor/Getty / @TeslaJoy/YouTube
Tesla never seems to stop with its new creations.
When it comes to the car of the future, Elon Musk is sure throwing all his weight behind Tesla. From the Cyberpunk-inspired Cybertrucks to the new driverless robotaxi and robovans, Tesla is supposed to be the future of humanity.
You don't just have to be a billionaire to buy a Tesla, and with the Model 3 starting from $42,490, we've seen an increase in their popularity.
Even though Teslas aren't exactly cheap, their technological advancements should future-proof them for years to come. That's what you think, but after putting the pedal to the metal, how does the Tesla do?
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YouTuber Tesla Joy has spoken to 'Lawrence' the Tesla owner and asked how driving nearly 155,000 miles in just under five years has affected the car's battery life.
Using the Tesla's 'Tessie' management app, Lawrence says that his car has lost between eight and 11 percent of its health. Although Lawrence admits he hasn't noticed and difference and likely wouldn't unless he was tracking it, the idea that a Tesla can burn through its battery health so quickly is sure to be concerning for some.
The Federal Highway Administration says that the average US driver will clock up around 13,500 miles a year. This means Lawrence is well above the average, but still, you might expect the Tesla's battery life to be doing a little better than this.
Lawrence also discussed Tesla's Superchargers, which are a last-ditch attempt to charge your car in less than 30 minutes.
While some claim relying on Superchargers can also impact your battery health, Lawrence doesn't think this is accurate.
Bearing in mind that you're also supposed to service your Tesla every 12,000 miles or once a year. Lawrence admitted that he didn't have his serviced until 145,000 miles, saying he 'wanted to see how far the car would go before something broke.'
We're not sure that's the best way to treat your Tesla, but at the end of the day, it's your car.
After nearly five years of driving around, Lawrence has has to replace the charging socket (costing $600), the 12V battery ($125), and spent 'a few hundred bucks' to replace the upper control arms.
Despite shelling out an extra $1,000 in maintenance, Lawrence concluded: "It's incredible because I still love this car. I still remember the day I drove it off the Tesla lot and the feeling of the pedals and everything, and I feel like it's 100 percent - maybe 99 percent, something like that - similar."
If you own a Tesla or are thinking of getting one, our advice would be to get it serviced regularly, charge through the suggested methods, and maybe don't drive it drive it to the extremes if you want to keep its battery health feeling like the car is fresh out of the box.
