Sylvester Caprietar, an Uber driver in the Greater Toronto Area, says his Tesla saves him a lot of money and fetches him better fares and tips.This article was written and edited before Krystyna Lagowski passed away in October 2023. She was a valued member of the Globe Drive team, contributing regularly since 2022 on topics including electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, car buyer protection and dealer regulation.
There is little reason to worry, says Cara Clairman, president of non-profit EV advocacy organization Plug’n Drive, because for average drivers, 12-year-old batteries are still going. “This idea that you’ll have to replace a battery over the life of the car is probably, in most cases, wrong,” she says.
“The cost and maintenance savings on the vehicle far outweigh what we paid for a new battery,” he says. He puts on 90,000 kilometres a year but isn’t at all worried about his battery health. “Tesla claims it should last 10 years,” he says. There’s also an eight-year warranty on it, or 192,000 kilometres, whichever comes first.
Prices are coming down, too, as adoption grows. Today, it’s far less expensive to swap in a new or refurbished battery, says Clairman: “You can get a refurbished Nissan Leaf battery for $3,000.”As well, manufacturers are providing generous warranties on EV batteries, many stretching between eight and 10 years – far longer than most warranties on gas cars.