How long will my Tesla last? (Part Two)

While as we’ve seen yesterday that the core motor and battery pack hold up well, specific secondary components exhibit recurring wear patterns as Teslas age. Due to the heavy weight of high-voltage battery packs, Tesla suspension bushings, control arms, and ball joints experience accelerated wear compared to lighter gas cars. 

On Model S and X, the upper and lower control arms, as well as front half-shafts tend to develop squeaks or shuddering under hard acceleration and often require replacement every 60,000 to 100,000 miles. On Model 3 and Y: Front upper control arm ball joints (housed in composite/metal arms) are known to dry out and creak over time, often needing replacement or regreasing around 50,000–80,000 miles. 

Legacy Model S, X, 3, and Y models used conventional lead-acid 12V starter batteries to power cabin electronics, door locks, and computers. These lead-acid batteries typically failed quite soon due to constant cycling from the high-voltage pack. In recent production years, Tesla transitioned across all models to a 16V Lithium-ion auxiliary battery, effectively eliminating short-life 12V battery failures.

For air conditioning and heating, modern Model 3 and Model Y vehicles use a complex heat pump and fluid manifold system that manages cabin climate and battery cooling simultaneously. While highly efficient in cold weather, thermal heat pump valves, coolant pumps, and sensors represent a common failure point as vehicles exceed 100,000 miles. 

Because regenerative braking handles up to 90% of daily deceleration, standard brake pads and rotors wear at an exceptionally slow rate (often lasting 100,000+ miles). However, in regions with heavy winter road salt, rust and slide-pin seizure can occur due to lack of use if the brakes are not periodically cleaned and lubricated. As you can see, if battery, motor and transmission work surprisingly well, the rest of the car is merely average—or occasionally worse than average. 

Many uses have found problems involving things such as, body hardware, windows and doors, electronics, suspension and steering, charging systems, trim and problem with fit or finish and noises or leaks. Now you know everything, but we should give it another 10 years to grab the full picture!

How long will my Tesla last? (Part One)

That’s a pretty fair question! With the Tesla model S out since 2012 or so, I sometime wonder what kind of reliable history has been compiled on the millions of Tesla sold in the world. The good news is that over more than a decade of deployment—starting with the Model S in 2012 and followed by the Models 3, X, and Y—much of real-world reliability, component aging, and longevity data has been compiled by automotive research firms, consumer advocacy groups, and fleet telemetry studies. 

I found a comprehensive breakdown of what long-term studies, reliability tracking, and real-world owner data reveal about Tesla's reliability, durability, and primary aging trends. When evaluating Tesla reliability, industry analysts draw a sharp line between build quality/electronics fitment and powertrain durability. In terms of fit and finish, consumer agencies frequently score Tesla lower in initial quality due to non-mechanical issues—such as panel gaps, paint defects, weather stripping leaks, trim rattling, and infotainment glitches. 

However, mechanically, the core EV propulsion system performs far more consistently over high mileage than traditional internal combustion engines (ICE). It’s simply because an EV lacks complex transmissions, spark plugs, timing belts, fuel injectors, exhaust systems, and turbos. This means routine maintenance costs over 100,000+ miles average 40% to 50% lower than comparable luxury ICE vehicles. Battery health is the most closely studied aspect of long-term EV durability. 

Battery capacity loss is non-linear. The average Tesla battery experiences its fastest degradation during the first 20,000 to 30,000 miles (losing roughly 3% to 5% of original capacity). After this initial drop, the degradation curve flattens significantly, settling into a slow loss of about 1% capacity per 15,000–20,000 miles. Tesla’s aggregated fleet data indicates that after 200,000 miles (approx. 320,000 km) of driving, 

Model S and Model X packs retain an average of 88% to 90% of their original capacity. First-generation Model S vehicles suffered higher-than-average failure rates in their drive units, Most were replaced under Tesla's 8-year/unlimited-mile warranty. In Model 3, Y, and modern S/X) with permanent magnet reluctance motors have proven exceptionally durable. Tesla engineers designed these drive units with a target lifespan of 1,000,000 miles, and real-world high-mileage teardowns show minimal gear teeth wear or rotor degradation well past 200,000 miles. 

Tomorrow, we’ll see how the rest of the car survives over the years…

False alert!

Last Sunday, around 4pm a loud buzz from my phone got my full attention. The large message said: “Your residence has been placed in a GO Status. EVACUATE NOW!” As anyone should, we took that very seriously and switched into a panic mode, but there was no fire in view, no sirens and nothing, so we went out of our house, looked around, saw our next door neighbor on his e-bike going around to see where the fire was.

Then we talked to more neighbors and came to the conclusion that no matter how ominous the message was, this was a false alert, an option we unanimously preferred! Plenty of strong emotions to wrap up the weekend. That “Go” evacuation notice sent to cell phones across Park City and the South Summit Fire District was issued in error according to Skyler Talbot with the Summit County Sheriff’s office. 

The alert applies only to residents on West Henefer Road and East Canyon Road, some 28 miles (50 km) distant from Park City, as the crow flies. Obviously no one bother to dismiss it in the same manner. “There are no pre-evacuation or evacuation notices for South Summit Fire District,” the South Summit Fire District said, noting Summit County sent the alert by mistake. Park City residents also received the erroneous notification. 

Now we know how an evacuation notice feels like, but we still have to develop a pragmatic household plan for it!

Are Infantino days at Fifa counted?

I’m not into professional football and as a result don’t know much about that big-money sport. Yet, from the time Gianni Infantino concocted a FIFA Peace Prize for Trump, considered and acted on Trump’s request, during this summer’s World Cup, to utilized Article 27 of its disciplinary code and put the automatic one-match suspension on hold, placing Balogun, that US player that got a red card, on a one-year probation instead and making him immediately eligible to face Belgium. 

Then, there was the controversial, now-shelved proposal to sell a 20% commercial stake in the World Cup to private investors, including Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kuschner. All this series of unprofessional moves make me think that Infantino's days as FIFA president could be considered "numbered" (or counted) due to a severe political and governance crisis triggered by less than transparent moves. 

There’s no question that Infantion job is a cushy one as is total annual compensation package amount to approximately $6 million! 

Infantino’s position is now in jeopardy mostly because of the $20 billion plan called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that aimed to create a commercial subsidiary backed by private investors (including Joshua Kushner’s fund). 

This audacious move was reinforced by a 53-day ultimatum he had given FIFA’s 211 member associations to sign up for the plan under a financial incentive structure, which critics and confederations labeled as coercive and a "sell-off" of the game. 

Europe's UEFA and its 55 member nations unanimously rejected the plan, threatening a total boycott of all FIFA tournaments—including the World Cups—if he proceeded. CONCACAF and the AFC also formally opposed the scheme. Key allies of Infantino and senior staff have distanced themselves or resigned, and UEFA lawyers have demanded the preservation of documents while weighing legal action and regulatory complaints. 

Additional damaging reports regarding past governance (such as historic departure payments from his time at UEFA) have compounded the pressure, leading prominent figures and confederations to openly call for an independent review and his resignation ahead of the March 2027 presidential election. I guess time will tell...

Innovative phone dial pad

Another recent dream that I wanted to share today was also the most bizarre. Of course, it also woke me up. 

I was attempting to dial up using an old rotary phone. As I dialed one number and the wheel returned to its original position, I couldn’t remember which number was next (again, it was just a dream), so after some frustrating attempts I was presented with another phone, not the touch-tone phone device we all know, but a bizarre contraption that only had three keys.

Perhaps, I just couldn’t remember what a touch-tone dial looked like, which might say a lot about the quality of my old memory… As a result I seemed to have no choice but to create a new one with only three keys to make things simple. 

This said, during my dream I still couldn’t comprehend how it worked, but suffice to say that it looked like the rendition pictured here. Now, go figure (if you can)!

Dreams: Riding bikes in reverse

When it comes to my dreams, my ability to remember them varies a whole lot. The ones that wake me up brutally and for good, I vividly remember them. The others that I kind of recall in a figment of consciousness, if I live them almost consciously when they occur, I can guarantee you that, the next morning, I still remember having had some dreams, but I’m woefully unable to tell what they were about! 

This is pretty much the essence of dream memory, and these are the few conclusions I’ve drawn about them: 

• Abrupt awakenings preserve dreams, 
• Smooth transitions erase them, 
• Awareness doesn’t guarantee recall, 
• REM is vivid but poorly stored. 

So just to illustrate my above stream of consciousness, here is a recent dream of mine. I believe it was inspired by what I see all along the winter season on the slopes with skiers going backwards.

I just saw in my dream three cyclists deciding to ride backwards, against traffic on a steep road, something I would never attempt in my wildest dream (I guess I’m wrong on that account!) I thought to myself “This is crazy, this practice should be forbidden!” I just hope you won’t disagree with me, as it will largely compensate me for waking up…

Update Portillo

 

After being closed for 25 days, as of Sunday, August 9, 2026, the Chilean side of the road to Portillo has been cleared. Authorities have established controlled traffic specifically for people with reservations at the Portillo ski resort for the weekend. 

The Paso Los Libertadores and the international Route 60-CH to Mendoza, Argentina, is still officially closed. While the Chilean side has been cleared, the Argentine side remains the bottleneck, with snow-clearing work still underway. Today’s report says that the international crossing could open during the coming week, but there is still no official reopening date.

The resort hotel had planned its 2026 winter season from June 27 through September 27, but had to delay its partial opening to July 4. If we add to it more than 3 weeks of forced closure, the operators have lost a tremendous portion of its earning potential. This sadly illustrates too well the challenges of the ski business. 

On Saturday, I pieced together the video that’s available below, from Portillo’s outstanding network of webcams, to give a good sense of what’s happening on the slopes. The video is best viewed on a tablet or a computer screen as visible skiers are tiny creatures!