Posted on 03/17/2022 9:05:12 AM PDT by Red Badger
As promised, here's how much a Model 3 Performance's battery has degraded after 100,000 miles. How much range will it have left?
As we previously shared, Kyle Conner is in the midst of a new video series highlighting a Tesla Model 3 with over 100,000 miles on it. More specifically, it's a 2019 Model 3 Performance that's been put through the paces from day one. Conner has certainly taken care of the electric sedan, but he isn't one to baby it or take it easy, to say the least.
In the first video (linked below), Conner took us on a tour of the Model 3's interior and exterior to show how it's holding up. At that point, he promised many more videos with deeper dives. In the latest video above, he gets into the EV's battery degradation – or, in simpler terms, its total battery capacity loss since he took delivery.
We don't even have to start watching the video to know that the Model 3 has certainly lost some electric range over the years – all batteries degrade over time, though, in many cases, much more slowly and less noticeably than some people would have you believe. Many folks are concerned about buying an EV not only due to range anxiety, but also for fear that they'll have to eventually replace its expensive battery pack.
Research suggests that many EV battery packs, especially on longer-range models, are likely to continue providing sufficient range even after the vehicle itself is wearing out and even nearing the end of its life. Moreover, EVs have long/high mileage warranties that cover the battery, electric motors, and related components. That said, in a perfect world, if you buy an EV and its battery either stops functioning or degrades too quickly, it should be covered and replaced.
Kyle notes that he uses TeslaFi to keep track of all his Model 3's data. It offers loads of insight, and he promises another video going into TeslaFi in much greater detail. However, he does point out details like the fact that more than 50 percent of his Model 3's lifetime charging has been done at a DC fast charger/Tesla Supercharger, which should make a notable difference in the battery's degradation. Fast charging is known to contribute to battery degradation.
What we really appreciate about Kyle's new series is that many EV owners may be able to look at his ownership experience as a sort of "worst-case scenario." If you don't charge at a Supercharger daily, drive all over the country every week, slip and slide around various tracks, participate in your fair share of drag races, and hit the off-road trails from time to time, your EV may be less prone than Kyle's to issues and battery degradation.
Now to the real meat and potatoes. To give us an idea of the Model 3 Performance's battery degradation, Kyle Supercharged to 100 percent and performed the usual 70 MPH highway range test. He says he would have liked to drive 50 to 55 mph to reduce heat, but he was keeping things consistent.
On the trip from Colorado through Wyoming and into Nebraska, there was a tailwind on the way out, which Kyle says was counteracted by headwinds on the return. In the end, the car proved capable of traveling 225 miles at a constant 70 mph, followed by about 20 additional urban miles until the battery's capacity and its buffer were essentially spent.
This all proved that the pack delivered just over 67 kWh. When the car was new, it had about 75 kWh of battery capacity. So, the total loss at over 100,000 miles is around 10 to 11 percent. Pretty impressive!
You have it completely backwards. The sharpest drop is early in life. Speak from facts, not emotion!
“Until you realize that is the equivalent of your Chevy Trax going from 155 hp to 138 hp.”
Article says nothing about hp loss.
Oops. It was the discharge curve I was thinking of.
All this for using electricity generated from coal-fired generators transferred and stored in the Tesla.
It is effectively a coal powered auto.
Greenies?!?!? What are they thinking?
I occasionally drive from Boston to Chicago and back over a 4 day trip. Not feasible with any electrics these days.
Can definitely tell that he was in Colorado...cracked windshield.
Or Louisiana.................
So the assumption is the battery will outlast the mechanical systems at 100k? So, what, they think everyone just buys a new vehicle at 100k? My little pickup got 300k and literally rusted to pieces so I sold it for 500 bucks and the thing is still driving around. My current vehicle just got 200k and runs fine. I keep waiting for it to break down so I have an excuse to get a newer rig but it keeps on going. I can drive 300 miles and fill up in ten minutes at a gas station that can serve hundreds, if not thousands of cars an hour, and be on my way for another three hundred miles. A Tesla, great, 200miles then what? Wait in line at a charger for a few hours with all the other. Fine for commuting I guess. Too early to do the math on the payoff.
Oh, and what happens to all those battery packs?
“What is the size of your EcoDiesel Ram’s tank?”
$150
“So the assumption is the battery will outlast the mechanical systems at 100k? So, what, they think everyone just buys a new vehicle at 100k? “
?
“A 245 mile range is pathetic. My old Volvo sedan goes more than 500 miles on a tank of gas.”
I’ve always been impressed by the power companies in Florida but even so, in the last thirty years, I’ve had to go probably a total of four weeks without power, meaning no gas either. The gas in the tank was just fine because the range on the car is so great compared with electric batteries. Also, I keep a minimum of 20 gallons of gas for the generator, which I have never needed to power the car. Gas is the way to go. Don’t even get me started on the cost to the environment of battery powered cars because the mining, refining, manufacturing energy cost, plus the disposal costs FAR exceed any environmental gains you get while driving the car. But, hey, you get to look down on all those drivers of gas powered cars, so it’s worth it.
“Can definitely tell that he was in Colorado...cracked windshield.”
Used to drive from MD to PA once a year to visit ex’s grandmother. Cracked windshield everytime.
My 2014 Grand Cherokee 3.6L, got 500 miles, (Virginia Beach, VA - Ashland, KY) and after 10 min to fill up it was ready for another 500 miles. Tesla can’t do that.
Current Texas Diesel price is $4.94/gal. $150 fill up makes your tank approximately 30.3 gal.
800 mile range at 30 gallons is 26.6 MPG. Not too shabby.
The issue is global oil consumption. Post Covid, it will reach 100 million barrels/day this year.
Electric cars have no application outside cities, and people inside cities were not driving much anyway. They don’t have far to go. But it is in blue cities that these things are sold.
EVs are having little or no impact on the relentless growth in oil (fuel) consumption. It’s oil consumption that is supposed to be the Green focus.
your >> his
After a litany of preceding discussion, the first actual dollar number I saw was $21,000 replacement cost. If that’s the standard for a car that is only at or near the 100K mile mark to get it back to par, then it isn’t for me.
Does he regret it yet?
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