How do 300K-mile Teslas hold up? This EV fleet operator has some interesting data

The highest-mileage Teslas on the planet aren't consumer cars, but rather fleet vehicles owned by companies like Tesloop.

The EV market made a lot of promises to consumers: more efficiency, less time spent at the pump, less pollution, less maintenance. Even the enthusiasts are now placated with supercar-like stats from Tesla, the Porsche Taycan, Jaguar, Mercedes and Audi. What hasn’t been talked about often is how the first-wave EVs are holding up at mega-mileages.

Most EVs are still too young to die of old age, but not the Teslas at Tesloop, a Southern California-based fleet that rents the EVs to customers who need to travel from San Diego to LA or destinations in between. The Tesloop cars can clock up to 17,000 miles a month and need to recharge as often as twice daily. Several of its cars are nearing a half-million miles—when most fleets ditch their cars after 100K. Tesloop shared its data with Quartz, which teased out some interesting conclusions.

“When we first started our company, we predicted the drivetrain would practically last forever,” Tesloop founder Haydn Sonnad told Quartz. “That’s proven to be relatively true.”

Tesloop has spent just over $150,000 in maintenance on its fleet of seven vehicles, along with four others it operates. Tesloop spent 35 percent of that on parts, including seats, cooling fans and pumps, headlights, axles—which is a little concerning—and brakes. Tires made up 29 percent of that total, and everything else (towing, memory chips, battery replacement, bodywork, wheel alignments) was in the single percentile range.

The six battery replacements were all under warranty. One Model X, after covering more 330,000 miles, lost 23 percent of its range (260 miles to 200 miles). Quartz notes that the average from Tesla owners is about 10 percent over 155,000 miles. That lines up. There were a few software problems, too. The flash memory chip logged so much data it burned out, and in another car a software glitch would shut off the batteries prematurely. Sonnad says that those issues have been solved in the Model 3 and that he’s eventually switching his whole fleet to those newer cars.

Tesloop's cost per mile comes out to about 6 cents, which is on par with conventional vehicles. But those ICE cars usually get replaced after 100,000 miles, meaning another big investment. Sonnad predicts his total cost, including depreciation, will drop below premium brands—and eventually below standard brands.


In New York City’s fleet, the Chevrolet Bolt had the lowest maintenance cost in 2018, followed by the Nissan Leaf, electric Ford Focus, the hybrid Fusion and hybrid Toyota Prius. Gas cars and the Chevy Volt were at the bottom of the list, with the gas-powered Focus requiring nine times more maintenance than the Bolt.


Most fleet companies are just starting to dip their collective toes in the EV pool, but they are anticipating the change.

“Everyone is excited about it, and everyone wants it,” David Hayward, a fleet expert with Deloitte Consulting told Quartz. “But there’s trepidation.”

That will certainly change as Tesla’s truck comes online along with Rivian’s fleet of Amazon vans and others. And for all fleets, range and charging is obviously a concern. But as soon as EV fleets drop a penny below the cost of an ICE fleet, you can be sure they’ll accept the change, especially if they’re getting five times the miles until the end of service.