If you own an older Tesla, keep its battery as your eyes, because the news coming from service centers is capable of making even the most ardent Elon Musk fan cry. It turns out that replacing the main power component can not only cost you a lot of money, but literally cost twice as much as you would get for the entire car on the used car market.
Imagine the dilemma of an American owner of a 2013 Model S. Equipped with the original 60-kilowatt-hour battery, he decided it was time to “upgrade” to the more powerful 90 kWh version. However, the bill turned out to be colder than an ice shower in January – The total cost of the procedure reached a staggering $23,262. Of this, $18,000 is for the hardware itself, and the rest goes to labor and software “unlocking“.
Here comes the absurdity: currently, a similar Tesla from the same year is traded on the secondary market for amounts between $10,000 and $15,000. In short - the repair is twice as expensive as the car. Even if you choose the more modest option for a new 60 kWh battery, the price of $13,830 still leaves you on the verge of economic suicide.
While owners of veterans in the range are wondering whether to scrap their cars, the situation is radically different in China. There, sales of the refreshed Tesla Model 3+ Long Range with rear-wheel drive have just started, which simply “torn the shorts“ the competition in terms of range. Thanks to the new 78.4 kWh battery from LG and improved aerodynamics, this model achieved a record 830 kilometers on a single charge according to the local CLTC cycle.
This is how a paradoxical reality emerges in the world of electric mobility: while new models are becoming more impressive and durable, old “lions“ are becoming expensive monuments to the technologies of the past. If your battery “dies“ outside of warranty, logic only points to one thing - it is better to invest in a new model than to try to revive this “basin”, whose “heart“ is worth more than its body.