Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Battery life

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Just wondering what the "expected" life span of the Tesla battery system is.
I have met naysayers with ICE cars who say I'll have to replace the whole thing in 5 to 6 years. I know this is stupid but I would like to hear from others about their experiences.
 
Hard to tell - Tesla has a 8 Year 120,000 mile battery/drivetrain warranty so you won’t be paying for it for at least that long. Since that is better than most ICE cars warranty I’d say Tesla has pretty high confidence in the longevity.

There are a couple Model S’s out there with over 400,000 miles. Some have replacement components but many issues are caught early on. Hopefully with the years of experience gained from the S/X the 3 drivetrain should really last the life of the car for most people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: APotatoGod
I believe that the answer, at this point, is that no one really knows. As others have mentioned, their are vehicles over 400,000 miles. 8/120k warranty.
In some of the earlier batteries, there were indeed some early mortality issues, but once you get pass that, the numbers just don't exist yet.

But, remember, that after the 8 years that the warranty lasts, the prices of batteries are going to be a lot less than they are today. Sp. for possibly a few thousand dollars, you mat get a new battery, which is like a new car.

So, therefore if you are trolling, go find something else to troll about.
If you are worrying, check this one off the list.

You missed the event in Chattanooga last week, head down to Atlanta this weekend
National Drive Electric Week Event - Atlanta

where you can get to see a bunch of cars and get your questions answered.
If you see a blue Model 3 and a red 2018 Leaf, drop by and say hello.
 
Aside from infant mortality, I would expect the M3's battery to last quite a while given the active thermal management.

Here is my personal experience: I have a 2013 Leaf (mfg. date is early 2013) with 40K miles and the SoH is 88% (obtained via OBD-II diagnostics). The leaf has no thermal management, and is known to be the worst EV mass market in terms of battery degradation. It lost the first 7% in the first year, 2% the second year, and ~1% per year after that. I charge to 100% daily and live in a climate where summers routinely exceed 90F. I'm confident it'll go another 5 years and remain above 80%.
 
Just wondering what the "expected" life span of the Tesla battery system is.
I have met naysayers with ICE cars who say I'll have to replace the whole thing in 5 to 6 years. I know this is stupid but I would like to hear from others about their experiences.

The oldest Tesla car would be somewhere around 2012/2013. That is "only" 6 years. Those Tesla's run fine today, even with 400.000 miles or more. You can look at this graph for an indication of battery degradation:

tesla-battery-degradation-data-points-chart.jpg


You can expect about 10% battery degradation during the economic lifetime of the car. I don't see why the cells can't last 20 years, which is longer than the lifespan of most cars.

I'm sure that when there are Tesla's that old there will be companies offering battery pack rebuilds/refurbishments or perhaps even made-in-china-aftermarket-packs
 
  • Like
Reactions: APotatoGod