Having a high-tech car like Tesla sounds good at first glance. Elon Musk even joked that he, like Apple, sells expensive computers, but his comes with an entire electric car.
But what happens to a Tesla car after three years and nearly 40,000 miles?
In 2019, Dave Vanderwerp, editor of Car and Driver magazine, bought a Tesla Model 3, one of the cheapest models Musk’s factories produced.
Vanderwerp was initially attracted to the software and the possibilities of autonomous driving.
The first mistake occurs when he gets the electric car: Dave pays another $6,000 for the self-driving option, but it’s not installed in the software.
Note that now, in 2022, the software in question costs twice as much and it’s still not certain that the customer will get it. This is far from the first flaw, as Vanderwerp has encountered a number of other software problems.
The mobile app he uses to connect to the electric car, for example, reports an accident while Dave is simply parking.
Outside of these annoying flaws, first impressions of the Tesla Model 3 are good. His editor had to replace one of the rear motors, costing $2,500 to repair. All covered by the electric car warranty.
Vanderwerp notes that he really likes the spacious interior and the comfort of the cabin, but on the other hand finds it too minimalistic and is annoyed by the lack of a speedometer display right in front of the driver’s eyes.
The other lesson Dave quickly learns is that an electric car’s performance on the road can vary wildly.
It’s clear that in colder climates EVs travel fewer miles on a single charge, but Vanderwerp also notes that in cold months like January and February, it’s more difficult to heat the cabin and charging is slower. Also, the car wastes energy to protect the battery from freezing.
Dave explains that on a freezing February evening, when temperatures drop to -5 degrees Celsius, the Tesla Model 3 uses 5 percent of its charge just to keep the battery warm. “My car used up 5 percent of the battery trying to keep it from freezing,” he jokes.
The good news is that the Model 3 doesn’t require too many scheduled services. Vanderwerp points out that the brake system needs to be lubricated at around 20,000 kilometres. A few drops of lube cost him $306, which is out of warranty.
The electric car, like most cars that roll off the showroom floor brand new, comes with all-season tires—in Tesla’s case, Michelin. Dave notices that after 30,000 miles the tires are completely worn out and need to be replaced.
The set of tires cost $1,157. In those three years, Vanderwerp had to replace both the windshield and glass roof, $1,088 and $1,196, respectively.
Dave has one good thing to say about the Tesla Model 3’s battery. At 20,000 miles, the electric car has lost only 6 percent of its battery capacity, or about 20 miles of mileage. At over 64,000 kilometres, there is no further drop in battery capacity.
For these kilometres, the car’s software goes through a total of 38 updates, which means that there is a new update every 20 days on average. Some of the updates bring really useful new features, such as motion detection around the electric car in the heaviest traffic and climate control in the cabin if a pet is inside.
Other upgrades come in the form of treats like a variety of horn sounds to scare pedestrians.
Just before reaching 65,000 kilometers, Vanderwerp also received an update that completely changed the look of the interface. Tesla Model 3 has a 15-inch display, on which any changes are quite visible, the editor reminds.
Below Dave’s article on an electric car, comments from other owners of Tesla, some of which are not happy with their purchase at all.
“Tesla’s charging infrastructure is stronger than their cars themselves,” wrote one user in Car and Driver. “Tesla’s automatic wipers are significantly less effective than those offered by any other automaker,” added another.
“My Model 3 lost 40 miles in one day just sitting in the parking lot. What the hell?!” exclaimed a third.
However, Vanderwerp points out that maintaining such an electric car is cheaper, as there is no need to change the oil and other consumables, and the brakes are lubricated no more than once a year. The only major expense for Dave remains the replacement of seasonal tyres.
In conclusion, he underlines another very important thing: a number of problems that he had to face with his Tesla Model 3 during these three years have already been solved in the most recent modifications.
