What do you do when your e-car battery wears out? Survey finds they almost never do

By Bruce Brown Published June 7, 2016

We’re breaking new ground with the fleets of electric-powered and autonomous cars coming our way in the next 2 to 10 years. Range anxiety — how far can I go on a charge? — arises when considering all-electric cars versus gas and diesel power, but that concern will be answered with higher-capacity batteries and more widely dispersed charging stations.

Another interesting question is about the lithium-ion batteries in electrical vehicles. How long will they last? Sure, they’re rechargeable, but so are laptop lithium-ion batteries, and we know they degrade and eventually wear out. So what about electric car batteries? The way they’re built or tucked into vehicle chassis, switching them for new ones sounds like a considerable service effort and an even more considerable expense.

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Tesla Motors has a reassuring answer to the question of e-car battery longevity, according to Electrek. All Tesla’s come with an 8-year, transferable, unlimited warranty on the batteries and the drive train. It’s called the Infinite Mile Warranty. The catch is that “the loss of battery energy or power over time due to normal battery usage is not covered under this warranty.” So the question still remains, what can we expect for power?

An electric vehicle advocacy group called Plug In America surveyed Tesla Model S owners. The survey used data from 495 vehicles that traveled 12,588,649 miles in total, and 17,214 miles per year on average. You can access the full report on the survey website, but the summary is promising. The survey showed that on average the Model S lost about 5 percent of their power in the first 50,000 miles and that the degradation then slowed. Tesla’s Model S hasn’t been available longer than four years, but among several with 100,000-plus miles, the battery pack degradation was less than 8 percent.

With all the power in reserve in Tesla models, those figures sound pretty good, but the company is going further. Tesla is partnering with Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to find ways to improve lithium-ion battery cell longevity. Electrek noted that CEO Elon Musk has stated Tesla has a battery back in its lab with more than 500,000 simulated miles still operating at over 80 percent of its original capacity.

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Contributing Editor

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…

Cars

The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Audio / Video

You Asked: State of smartphone design, Slate Truck breakdown, and soundbars under $600

You Asked

On today’s You Asked: What's to come with the new Slate Truck and its potential availability? Is it worth the hype? Why does it feel like smartphone design and innovation has stalled recently? And why do directors think that ultra wide 21:9 is a good ratio for movies?
Slate Truck breakdown with John McCann
Some of you have been in touch to ask about the availability of the new Slate Truck. I'll go through the preorder process in a moment, but first, let's get everyone up to speed on this newly unveiled EV. What is it? What makes it stand out? And why is it generating so much buzz?
This is being touted as a sub-$20,000 electric truck after government incentives, and you’ll be able to customize it to your heart’s content. It stands out not so much for what it offers, but for what it doesn’t offer as standard. There’s just one trim and one paint color. No touchscreen, no stereo, no Bluetooth, no electric windows.

So, what do you get? There are two seats. There's a five-meter bed, good for payloads up to 1,400 pounds. There's AC, steel wheels, and hand-cranked windows, plus all the standard driver safety assists you’d expect from a modern vehicle. There’s a rear-mounted electric motor, a roomy frunk, and a battery rated for about 150 miles, according to Slate.
That isn’t great in the world of EV range, but a larger battery will be available to push that figure up to a more reasonable 240 miles. That bigger battery is just one of over 100 add-ons Slate is making available. These will be offered not just at the point of purchase but also at any time during your ownership, allowing you to swap and upgrade as your needs evolve.
Want to add a splash of color? Check out the vast range of vinyl wraps you can apply and remove from the truck at will. There’s also an SUV upgrade kit that converts your two-seater truck into a five-seater car. Inside, infotainment is strictly “bring your own device.” There’s no touchscreen, no built-in CarPlay, not even a stereo. Instead, you get a universal phone mount and a few USB ports. You can also add holders for a tablet if you want a bigger display, and a Bluetooth speaker if you want to listen to music while out for a drive.

Cars

ID. Buzz recall appears to have made automotive history

The VW ID.Buzz electric van.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recalled almost 5,700 ID. Buzz electric vans because the VW-made vehicle has too much space in the back.

OK, let us explain. The U.S. regulator has found that the third-row bench seat of the ID. Buzz is ostensibly designed for two people and therefore has two seat belts built in. But it’s wide enough for three, and as a result, the NHTSA wants the German auto giant to make some changes so that it fully complies with the required safety standards.