Design2 min(s) read
Seven years ago, a Californian YouTuber who goes by the username Accelerating Tech bought a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and has done 165,000 miles in it since.
He has proved that the total cost of ownership has remained relatively low, as that means he has done over 23,000 miles a year, which is far above the nation’s average mileage.
The content creator was extremely lucky with the price he paid for the car, as he purchased the Tesla Model 3 when the $7,500 federal rebate was in force, and then he also received the $2,500 California state rebate. That adds up to $10,000, which is more than enough to cover taxes, fees, and registration, which worked out to $8,787 in the end.
Also, over the last seven years or so, Accelerating Tech spent around $7,900 on maintenance. Reportedly, the tires were the most individual expense, especially as electric vehicles burn through wheels a lot quicker than petrol vehicles. Because they are heavier and the way that EVs accelerate, tires alone have cost him $5,460.
Other minor repairs cost him around $1000, and the A/C compressor had to be replaced for $1,300.
The car is usually charged at home to keep costs down, but it cost $600 to have a Tesla Wall Connector installed. However, a major avoidable cost that hiked the price up was using superchargers, which are nearly twice as expensive as home charging.
So in total, he has spent $12,000 on the car over the last seven years, but including depreciation, the total cost of ownership came to $84,811.
In a video breaking down the cost, the anonymous creator said: “And if I had driven that many miles in a BMW 3 Series, they would probably be about $29,000. So almost three times as much.”
In comparison, he had calculated that “The BMW [3 Series] total cost of ownership was about $20,000 more.”
