In Germany, a Tesla Model S owner managed to exceed 1.9 million kilometers behind the wheel of his sedan. If he has a few tips to achieve this result, everything is not rosy, quite the contrary.
Currently, sales of electric cars continue to rise, with this engine reaching a market share of around 15% in France. And the latter should continue to progress over the years, despite the reluctance of certain motorists. Many of them are put off by the autonomy and the price, but not only that.
A world record
Indeed, many drivers are as afraid as their car battery is deteriorating too quickly, although we know that the latter represents around 40% of the total cost of an electric car. However, there is nothing to worry about, as Hansjörg von Gemmingen’s incredible adventure proves. This German retiree is also a big Tesla fan and had already managed to travel more than 600,000 kilometers with his Roadster.
But this travel lover went even further with his Model S P85+, which he bought second-hand in 2014 with 30,000 kilometers on the clock. And for good reason, the latter has already covered more than 1.9 million kilometers at the wheel, as we explained in a previous article. An incredible performance, which even earned him a place in the famous Guinness Book of Records.
His car would be the most mileage electric vehicle in the world. The YouTubers of the Watt Energy channel went to his house to question him about his crazy story and find out a little more about his adventure. Because the man is not content with making a few daily trips, since he has taken his car to several countries, including China, Sweden and Morocco. It is thanks to this that he achieved the million kilometers in 2019 and had been congratulated by Elon Musk himself.
Suffice to say that the performance is simply astonishing. But what is the secret of the latter? Well Hansjörg von Gemmingen has some advice to give us. First, he explains that he recharges his battery when he has 20% left and thatit never goes up to 100%, it thus avoids emptying it and overloading it in order to maximize its lifespan. Furthermore, he never drives more than 100 kilometers in a row and takes regular breaks.
Watch out for the catch
He also explained that he was trying to limit fast charging as much as possible, which can cause premature wear of the battery in certain cases. Be careful, however, because the data shows us that fast charging does not necessarily degrade battery cells more quickly than slower charging.
However, everything is not perfect either, quite the contrary. Because the retiree also specifies having had to replace the rear motor no less than 13 timesdue to a design issue on the first models.
As the replacement engines were reconditioned used examples, they broke down quickly and were not always under warranty. What about the battery?
Here too, the latter also had to be replaced, around approximately 480,000 kilometers. The car is currently on its 4th. Which isn’t so bad, because accumulators aren’t immortal. As a reminder, Tesla guarantees 70% of capacity after 8 years or 240,000 kilometers for the Model S.
Remember also that it is possible to replace only certain cells of a battery, in specialized garages, to avoid having to change the entire pack. Enough to reduce the bill to a few hundred euros, instead of 10 to 20,000 euros for a complete battery.
Furthermore, the manufacturer’s latest report claims that the Model S and Model X battery only loses 12% of capacity after approximately 321,800 kilometers. Certainly, some manufacturers promise a lifespan of more than a million kilometers, but this remains purely theoretical for the moment. Whatever happens, our German champion does not intend to stop the adventure, and is now aiming the two million kilometers.
He also canceled the order for his Lucid Air to keep his Model S. A story that reminds us of that of a Canadian taxi driver, who reached 500,000 kilometers with the original battery of his electric sedan. The latter has only deteriorated by 12% since 2016.