Tesla Model S retains 88% battery health after 10 years and 75,000 miles on the clock with minimal servicing

With the popular Tesla Model S now well over a decade old, we are witnessing a whole bunch of ultra-high-mileage Teslas that have stood the test of time without requiring battery swaps. Last year, we covered a series of videos from AutoTrader UK chronicling a Model S with over 430,000 miles on the clock, revealing a perfectly tolerable 23% battery degradation.

Now, the YouTube channel Ludicrous Feed has made a similar video concerning their 10-year old Tesla Model S. To be more specific, the variant in question is the 2015 Model S 70D, with a 69 kWh battery and a claimed 350 km or 218 miles of range. The car has clocked over 121,000 km or 75,000 miles over its life, which is actually a rather low number considering its age.

As part of the review, Ludicrous Feed arranged a third-party battery test for their 10-year-old Model S. The results reveal that the battery capacity has dropped to around 61 kWh, or roughly 88.1% of its original capacity. Despite the low mileage, 75,000 miles over 10 years is still a long time and a lot of miles covered. The fact that the battery has only degraded by around 12% is definitely quite impressive.

Considering that an average American keeps their car for 12 years or so, it can be argued that the Model S in question is definitely nearing the end of its life. Moreover, while it is true that a battery replacement costs far more than a typical ICE repair, there is no doubt that the annual maintenance costs for an EV are lower than a gas-powered ICE vehicle, considering the substantially fewer moving parts of the former.

Overall, Ludicrous Feed host Tom definitely appeared quite happy with having owned the Model S, reporting no major complaints after a decade of use. The door handle motors did require an out-of-warranty replacement, which was a known issue of the MY2015 car. Apart from that, the video, which can be found below, paints an undeniably positive picture.