Over one million miles in a Tesla Model S. It is the highest mileage in the world for a Tesla. How did the owner get there?
Not everybody is chasing after the latest Tesla. There are people who don't want to hear about giving up their good ol' Tesla for a brand-new Cybertruck and its impressive towing, off-road, and driving performance. Because their good ol' Tesla is worth a fortune to them, and clocking up mile after mile has become a target over the year.
Keeping an electric car for ages involves several replacements: batteries and motors are not long-term components for an EV, no matter what badge it wears, Tesla included.
This particular Tesla resides in Germany and is the highest mileage Tesla in existence today. The owner tweeted, back on November 14, that his car hit 1,900,005 kilometers. That is 1,180,608 miles on board an electric car. The Model S belongs to Hansjorg von Gemmingen-Hornberg, who lives in Germany. By now, it must have already hit 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles). "I am not a taxi driver," the owner points out. He just enjoys driving. He plays his favorite classical music and off he goes.
And what a road it was up to these figures! The Model S P85 (the digital instrument cluster has been incorrectly showing P90 after a motor swap) has been through at least 13 motor changes. It also received the fourth battery pack back in March and the owner estimates that he is going to buy another one in about four years. The real-life range is now of 400 kilometers (249 miles). The cold weather in Germany does not help much, though.
His previous battery had degraded so bad that it was only capable to provide energy for 162 miles (260 kilometers) before the car need to be plugged in again. Now, he would do anything, follow all the rules to make this one last more.
Photo: Watt Energy | YouTube
Hansjorg von Gemmingen-Hornberg says he does, indeed, take good care of his car. He does not even go over 62 mph (100 kph) even though he lives in Germany, the country of the highways (autobahn) with so many no-speed-limit sectors. He always charges his battery to 100 percent and never goes below 10 percent to prevent fast degrading. He usually charges the battery at home. It is less complicated than going around looking for Superchargers, even though he could use them for free for the entire life of the car.
The owner bought the Model S on the used car market in 2014, after it had previously been a customer car, with around 18,600 miles (30,000 kilometers) on the odometer. His car is the exact opposite of “garage queen.” He drove it all across Europe, to Africa, and even shipped it to Shanghai to spend some time in China two years ago.
The car had some issues with the infotainment system over the years. But the solution is always to turn it off and turn it back on. The beige leather that covers the seats looks well, too, with only few signs of wear every here and there, despite the fac that this car is over a decade old.
The red Tesla Model S wears stickers that read "1.900.000 kilometers, 1.100.000 miles" on both sides. Has Tesla ever contacted the owner to congratulate him on his mileage? Elon Musk sent him a thump up emoji on Twitter once. But that was even before his car hit one million kilometers. Now, he hears something and he made an appointment to the Tesla service center to fix whatever it is.
The owner of the Model S also has a first-generation Tesla Roadster. But that one is still enjoying its heydays, we dare say: it has only covered 450,000 miles (724,205 kilometers). The owner even took that one on a trip to the Arctic Circle.
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