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Payne: I’ve owned my Tesla for five years. Here are the plusses and minuses
Posted by Talbot Payne on September 19, 2024
Detroit — My Labor Day trip up north was like any other adventure in my 2019 Tesla Model 3. I unhooked the car charger, stowed my luggage in the trunk and put my computer bag in the frunk. Recognizing the key card in my wallet, the car unlocked automatically, then silently turned on when I depressed the brake pedal. Before backing out of the garage, I checked the details on the latest, overnight software update.
In the five years since I bought my Model 3, Tesla Inc. has remade the auto landscape. And for nearly 5 million owners worldwide, it has introduced a different car-owning experience, from its pioneering electronics to its battery-powered operation.
This is my five-year anniversary report on living with an EV.
As The Detroit News auto critic, I test more than 100 cars a year. The Model 3 has maintained its freshness, pushing the envelope in over-the-air updates, dealer service and autonomous driving. I’ve tracked it, road-tripped it, Dream-Cruised it and loaned it to Car and Driver for an EV comparison test.
It’s exposed the limitations of battery power compared to internal combustion engine cars, which remain the U.S. consumer market’s choice of personal transportation. And it’s introduced me to a Tesla universe of owners as passionate as any Porsche and Mustang club. Owners like ex-General Motors engineer Dick Amacher, 76, of Rochester Hills, who adopted his Model 3 in 2019, and Belleville’s Kelli Sloan, 60, whose 2018 Model 3 has weathered 126,000 miles over six years.
“I named her Stella. She’s a black, rear-wheel-drive, long-range model,” said Sloan, who together with husband Burt, has added a 2020 Model Y and 2024 Cybertruck to their fleet. “Everything in our house is now electric, even the lawnmower. I’ve driven the Model 3 all over, including to Park City, Utah, and twice to the (Florida) Keys.”
I bought my first, rear-wheel-drive, 271-horsepower, $58,450 Model 3 in fall 2018, then traded it for an all-wheel-drive, 473-horsepower, $63,940 Model 3 Performance model a year later when Tesla temporarily dropped the price by $15k. As readers of this space know, I have a need for speed. My first year with the handsome, RWD Model 3 was fascinating, and M3P extended my electric journey while interfacing with the first viable startup automaker in decades.
From its “production Hell” while Tesla struggled to meet a flood of 250,000 orders, Model 3 has stabilized as the No. 12 best-selling vehicle in the U.S. marketplace ahead of stalwarts like the Toyota Corolla and Chevy Equinox. Its sibling Model Y reigns as the No. 4 best-seller and No. 1 selling luxury vehicle. It has inspired countless tech innovations, from its 15.4-inch touchscreen to the “frunk” (front trunk) to driver-assistance tech.
It’s even been a political lightning rod with Tesla CEO Elon Musk swinging from being the scourge of the Right (after taking a $465 million taxpayer loan from the Obama administration) to the bane of the Left (when he restored former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account).
Once a rare sight around Metro Detroit, my Model 3 has been joined by hundreds more — including its sibling Model Y. Fortunately for Michigan owners, the new Whitmer administration in January 2020 overturned Gov. Rick Snyder’s state ban (more politics!) on Tesla service centers.
Service
Tesla’s first in-state service center opened on Dixie Highway just west of downtown Clarkston in May 2020. A half-hour drive from my house, it’s been my primary maintenance facility for the last five years. Prior to that, I had to go back to Cleveland (where I bought my Teslas) to get service.
Not that there isn’t much service to do on an electric vehicle.
In five years, I’ve had seven service calls with the Model 3 Performance, two of them mobile house calls. The first issue, in early 2021, stemmed from a rodent’s nest that had been built in my console during the winter. Removing it required three visits (two to the service center, one from Mobile Unit. Yes, Tesla makes house calls). Critters like warm batteries, apparently. I noticed the invasion because I could hear acorns rolling around beneath the cabin.
Service appointments are activated by the Tesla app. I submit the issue and a dispatcher determines whether it can be resolved 1) over the air, 2) via Mobile Unit visit, or 3) a journey to the service center.
On July 7, 2022, I experienced an Autopilot sensor issue, which a tech corrected remotely. And I scheduled two Bluetooth services when my phone failed to connect. The remaining visit? At 10,000 miles for scheduled maintenance and to replace the trunk-lid wiring harness under recall. Cost? Just $166 to rotate tires and check brake pads, brake fluid, windshield washer fluid and battery coolant.
Amacher bought his blue, RWD Model 3 Long Range (nickname: Deja Blue) in April 2019 and has logged 36,000 miles, including a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia. I asked if he was tempted to upgrade to a 2024 Highland, the second-generation Model 3 introduced earlier this year with a quieter cabin, yoke steering, predictive gear changes and revised styling.
“I’m not tempted,” said Amacher, whose car has been trouble-free. “I’ve had no battery degradation, no brake pad changes, no oil jobs.”
Charging
Most of my EV driving is local. I am constantly on airplanes, work remotely, and don’t have a regular office commute. Combined with testing other vehicles, that keeps mileage on my Tesla low. I plug in the M3P in my garage at night.
At a cost of 15 cents/per kWh, the Tesla is significantly cheaper to fuel than a comparable gas car (say, the 19 mpg BMW M2 that I had my eyes on before Musk introduced the Model 3 in 2016). To preserve battery life, I charge to 80% of capacity — 237 miles — for a cost of $16. At $4.60 for premium petrol in the Bimmer, my cost would be $57 per tank-full.
Take the Model 3 on the road and that advantage drops. Tesla Superchargers cost 39 cents/per kWh for a total of $31 over 237 miles. Assume, conservatively, that I charge 50/50 at home/Superchargers, and I’ve paid $1,170 in charging fees over my 13,000 miles of ownership — $2,000 in savings over an equivalent gas-powered performance sedan.
That’s enough to pay for one of the two, 240-volt, $2,000 charging stations (charger plus installation cost) I’ve put in my Oakland County home and Charlevoix summer cabin that Mrs. Payne and I own.
Kelli Sloan’s last ICE car was a 2008 Ford Taurus X that drank fuel at 18 mpg. “Between fuel and maintenance costs, I’ve saved a bundle with the Model 3,” she said.
Trips
Wait, Payne, you’ve paid $4,000 for twin charging stations?
If you own an electric car, you want to maximize home charging for affordability (see above) — and because EVs are slower to fill than ICEs. A gas-burner will fill 500 miles of fuel in two minutes. I regularly travel the 250 miles from Oakland County to Charlevoix. Tesla’s navigation system smartly plans the trip, including suggestions for restaurants/stores near chargers. En route to Charlevoix, I make a 25-minute stop at the Bay City Supercharger in a Meijer parking lot to refuel from about 32% to 80% of charge — or about 141 miles of range. If I travel at 75 mph, that should get me to Charlevoix with a cushion of 20% of range.
I’ve learned batteries are vulnerable to changing conditions. Unlike ICEs, the consequences of changing conditions can seriously affect EV travel plans due to sparse charging infrastructure and lengthy recharge times. Even different wheel sizes will affect your range.
Driving at 80 mph will cut range 30%. Driving in pouring rain will cut it 40%. Drive in 90-degree heat — or sub-30 degrees cold — and lose 25% of range.
Facing those variables — and the lack of charging infrastructure up north — I installed a second charger in our cabin. It relieves uncertainty.
Battery degradation
Battery degradation is an inexact science that depends on how often you use superchargers, where you store your car, and so on. Tesla claims its batteries will retain at least 70% of charge over eight years, but battery-data firm Recurrent studied real-world Tesla driving range and found average battery degradation to 64% of capacity after three years.
I put 20-inch wheels on my M3P, which decreased range (according to EPA figures) from 322 miles to 299. My five-year-old car consistently charges to 298 miles at 100% charge. Amacher and Sloan haven’t seen battery degradation in their Model 3s.
Competition
For good and ill, Tesla has been a pioneer — charting its own path on charging networks, manufacturer-run showrooms, even a proprietary digital infotainment system. It’s a strategy that has developed a rabid, anti-establishment fan base. Think Apple vs. Microsoft.
Voice commands work beautifully, but infotainment has fallen short on content. Neither Sirius XM nor digital versions of my favorite AM stations are available, and Tesla also refuses Apple CarPay and Android Auto compatibility.
Still, “I would have a hard time switching to another EV brand,” said Amacher, who added to his 2019 Model 3 purchase with a 2020 Model Y Performance and a 2023 Model 3. “Why change to Windows when you have a good Mac?”
Charging network
The Supercharger network was built from scratch and continues to grow. It’s Tesla’s secret sauce — so much so that other automakers have rushed to give their customers access, beginning with Ford Motor Co. last spring. That access will narrow Tesla’s advantage (while padding profits) as will Google Built-in, a new operating system that runs GM/Honda/Volvo EVs and that is Tesla’s equal in charting trips.
Autonomous driving
Most notably, the competition has caught up on self-driving. Synonymous with the autonomous revolution, Tesla once promised owners they’d be able to rent their cars as autonomous taxis. Didn’t happen. But my car’s Autopilot system has continuously improved with OTA updates to offer Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system today.
“My ‘ah-ha moment’ came in 2018 while driving to Park City,” said Sloan. “We were on I-80 and a major storm had come in, so we drove from Nebraska into Wyoming in a blizzard. (Husband) Burt was using enhanced Autopilot, and I could not see the front of the car. I was watching the visualization on the (Tesla) screen, and it drove us flawlessly through that snowstorm.”
Amacher is an FSD missionary. “I’m addicted to it. I drove most of the way to Halifax on FSD. It’s rekindled my interest in travel. And I think it’s a net benefit for city driving, too.”
It’s remarkable to watch M3P try to drive itself everywhere — though I put a STUDENT DRIVER sign on the back because it’s as cautious as a new 16-year-old driver. But where it matters most — on interstates — FSD plays second fiddle to GM’s Super Cruise system, which will go hands-free (FSD still requires a hand on the tiller) for miles while I eat a meal and check email.
Updates
My Tesla is better today than it was five years ago. How many cars can say that? Thanks to routine Over the Air updates, it has added features like FSD, games and a racetrack performance data monitor.
Residual value
By any measure, the Model 3 (and sister Model Y) has been a sales success. But sales volume — and concern for battery longevity — has come at a price.
My Model 3 Performance’s residual value is just 46% — $30,000 — of what I paid for it five years ago. A comparable, $64,000, 2019 BMW M2? It’s retained 84% of its value at $54,000.
Like Henry Ford’s Model T 100 years ago, Tesla’s Model 3 wants to change the industry. Our new vocabulary — frunk, Autopilot, Supercharger, OTA updates — is a start.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.