A man who drove his 2022 Tesla for 300,000 miles has shared just how it affected his battery.
Jason McKnight, who owns a Tesla Model Y EV, posted on the Tesla High Mileage Club on Facebook to reveal the degradation of his battery from driving his car for hundreds of thousands of miles.
If you don’t know, battery degradation is a hot topic when it comes to Electric Vehicles (EVs), particularly because nobody seems to know just how long your battery will last and how many miles are too many until it needs to be replaced.
Degradation occurs when the battery naturally declines and its ability to hold charge decreases.
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It’s a little like when your phone reaches a couple of years old and suddenly, you’re finding yourself attached to your charger because it’s running out more frequently.
The more you use it and the more you charge it to full capacity, the quicker it’ll degrade.
However, McKnight’s insights just might shed a little light on the impact so many miles can have on your Tesla.
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McKnight’s car's odometer shows it's racked up some serious mileage - 300,000 to be exact - which is a lot for the three years the model has been on the road.
The driver explained that his battery is the original and hasn’t been replaced, but after driving for so long, it has been worn down a little.
According to him, he puts the degradation of the battery at around 21 percent in total, which isn’t bad at all.
Tesla released its latest Impact Report, this year, explaining that battery degradation in its Model S and Model X vehicles is only 12 percent after 200,000 miles.
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According to Vev, owned by Vitol which works in the energy sector, this is a remarkable feat.
Its website states that ‘larger batteries degrade more slowly, fleet operators that use trucks and buses have reason to be confident that EVs will be cost-efficient over the long-term’.
The website went on to say that Tesla’s batteries are predicted to last somewhere between ten and 15 years, making them quite sturdy.
However, it also notes that 100 percent degradation isn’t the point where you’ll need to replace it.
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In fact, you need to be getting yourself a replacement when it reaches about 70 percent.
This means that a car could do around 950,000 miles (if we’re basing it on McKnight’s degradation) to reach the limit of its life.
That’s a very good timeline for many who spend a fortune on fixing their regular cars.
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Anyway, people online were stunned by his calculations, but more so by how much he drives his car.
One person wrote: “Wow, and I’m here with 120,000mi on my X thinking I’m running high mileage. It’s just a baby afterall.”
Another welcomed him to the '300,00 mile club', which must mean that they’re also part of it.
If McKnight is driving 100,000 miles a year, it could mean he’s got six sweet more years until his battery gives up, and whether it outweighs the investment spent on the car is down to him.
Topics: Cars, Electric Cars, Elon Musk, Tesla, Facebook
Britt Jones