Image: Tesla

Tesla vehicles experience battery degradation of just 12% over their lifetime, according to published data. This means the company's vehicles can be used for a long time without having a negative impact on the environment due to the need to replace the battery or send it for scrap.

Many consumers around the world, before buying an electric car, wonder how long it will last. One of the most important factors is the assessment of how high-quality the battery of a particular electric vehicle is. Among other things, this is determined by what level of battery degradation will occur after a certain number of miles traveled. No consumer wants to buy a car that loses a lot of capacity after 50,000 to 100,000 miles.

Tesla cars are distinguished by very high-quality batteries that provide many years of enjoyable driving. To clear things up, in its 2022 Impact Report, the company provided important data on the life of its batteries. According to the report, even after 200,000 miles, the battery degradation in the company's vehicles is only 12%.

Tesla has been selling electric vehicles for over a decade, so it has a robust dataset that shows battery degradation over time. Therefore, the data presented in the report are reliable, as they are collected from real experience, and not from potential or projected information. For analysis, Model S and Model X data were taken, which are the oldest models, and therefore the best in estimating such a large mileage.

Tesla estimates the car will be scrapped after about 200,000 miles in the US and about 150,000 miles in Europe. This means most owners will be able to drive their Tesla for the whole of its lifespan without worry. It also means the negative impact of Tesla cars on the environment is really low.

It is worth bearing in mind that if the vehicle is scrapped after 200,000 miles, the battery can be reused, for example in stationary energy storage. There, it can last for many more years before being disposed of. In addition, after the end of their service life, batteries can be recycled. This means that metals can be extracted from them, from which it will then be possible to produce a new battery again. This in turn means that there will be no need to mine and harm the environment again.

Tesla also left on note on the information provided. The company said “Mileage is only one factor in battery capacity retention: battery age is also a major factor. Retention figures at lower mileages above likely reflect the impact of age while higher mileage values, which come from high-utilization vehicles, likely reflect less influence from battery age.” In addition, Tesla said the performance of new chemicals being used in its batteries have not yet been taken into account, and so results could vary in the future. Going forward, the company plans to expand disclosures once it has collected enough data to do so.

© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter

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