If the title sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because it is. I wrote this viral post 3 years ago “How I Used & Abused My Tesla – What a Tesla Looks Like after 100,000 Miles, a 48 State Road Trip, 500 Uber Rides, 20 Rentals and 2 AirBnB Sleepovers”. Read this to catch up on the crazy details on the first 100,000 miles. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
This is the followup report as I crushed the 200,000-mile barrier on April 16 in my 2012 Tesla Model S.
Read on to discover the dirty details including how much I spent on repairs since I’ve been out of warranty for the last 150,000 miles. Check out the video below after 200,000 miles to see what it looks like now.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNJVQfn5Nkk[/embedyt]
Myth #1. “Don’t Share Your Tesla. You’ll Destroy the Car & Resale Value.”
Guess what?
Your car will depreciate whether you use it or not. Squeeze every dollar out of it while you can.
For example, a 2012 P85 like mine with just 50,000 miles is worth $33-38K tops.
My car, with 200,000 miles, is worth 26K (when I sold at 214,000 miles) or a $7,000 to 11,000 difference.
However, in that time, I made $33,501 on Turo, the Airbnb of Cars, and $16,685 on Uber/Lyft for a total of $50,186, all while still using it as my only car until late 2017, when I added this Model X.
But wait, just like a cheesy infomercial, there’s more!
I can write off business mileage, which over the life of the car would be about $97,200 to date, as well over 90% of my mileage is business miles. 200,000 miles x .90 = 180,000 miles X .54 cents a mile = $97,200. That doesn’t save me 97K, but I don’t have to pay taxes on 97K, meaning with an average tax bracket rate of 25% this saves $24,300 in taxes over the 200K miles.
In total here’s what the Tesla cost to “Use & Abuse” it vs. keeping it to myself and only driving 50K miles:
$79,000 – Purchase Price of used P85 with 35,000 miles August of 2014.
-$33,000 – Turo Earnings
-$17,000 – Uber/Lyft Earnings
-20,000 – Tax Savings
-26,000 – Sold August 26, 2019 exactly 5 years after purchase (Private Party)
$17,000 – Amount I was paid to own and drive the hell out of a Tesla. Keep in mind, I could have made a lot more as I only averaged 1 Uber ride a day over 4.5 years, and I only rented it seriously starting in 2016. I was having too much fun doing massive 48 State road trips and running my Flagstaff Vacation Rental business to really focus on maximizing the earnings. Sure $17,000 doesn’t sound like much, but compare that to paying 39K (79K – 40K resale = 39K if I didn’t share it) which is a $56,000 positive difference. Yes, that $56K did take some of my time, but if you like driving and sharing your Tesla like I do, it’s time well spent.
* Additionally, I’ve also earned almost $95,000 worth of prizes with the Tesla Referral Program which rewards those that help promote Tesla since they do zero advertising. I’ve already won about $15,000 in prizes including some Tesla Powerwalls, a set of wheels, etc. The other $80,000 I’ve yet to cash in, but it’s a discount on the $250,000 Founders Series Tesla Roadster. Yeah, that little gem that will do 0-60 in a mind-blowing 1.9 seconds and is one of the sexiest cars I’ve ever seen.
Out of Pocket Repairs
The first 100,000 miles I had about $1050 in repair cost.
Since then, I’ve had the following issues:
- $2,215 – Center Screen replaced June of 2018
- $790 – Charge port replaced January 2019
- $515 – Door handle March of 2019
- $845 – Miscellaneous smaller items over 3 years
All in, after 200,000 miles I’ve spent about $5415. Good luck spending that little on a 100K German luxury car. Your total will probably be 2 to 4X that total to make it to 200K.
I’ve spent money on tires, and two regular 12v car batteries (yes, Tesla still has those) and brakes. However, these are all items that regularly wear out regardless of what kind of car you have so they are not included.
Please note, my first and only brake job was at 130,000 miles for $700. Most cars need brakes every 60,000 miles or so, but since Teslas use regenerative braking which charges the battery, your brakes last much longer. Just one of the many hidden benefits of electric cars.
Gas Savings – This is HUGE
During this same period, figuring that 50% of my miles were free on the Tesla SuperCharger network, and the average cost to go 200 miles was $7 in electricity at home, that would mean it cost me $3500 to go 200,000 miles. Even if you paid for SuperCharging that’s still only about $7,000 total.
The cost to go 200,000 miles on gas, assuming 25MPG and $3 gas would be $24,000.
That means I saved over $20,000 by driving a Tesla vs. a gas car
Myth #2 – “You Can’t Road Trip in a Tesla”
Hahahahahhahah.
Not only can you, in my opinion, a Tesla is THE BEST Road Trip Vehicle on the planet.
Yes, when I did my first 48 State trip in 2015, it was somewhat of a challenge when there were just 185 SuperChargers in the USA. Now there are almost 650. It’s so easy a cave… you get the point. Simply enter your final destination, and the Tesla calculates all your stops and navigates you there.
No stress & zero planning needed.
A perfect example beside the obvious 48 State trips, is my recent trip from Scottsdale AZ to Cape Canaveral FL since I was invited to see the SpaceX Rocket Launch as part of the Tesla Referral Program.
The funny thing is I could have taken a $300 RT flight and been there in 4 hours. However, the Tesla is such a dream to drive that – without a gun to my head – I chose to drive for 4 DAYS each way instead. I had 100% confidence my old beater Tesla would get me there flawlessly…and it did.
Did I mention my 2012 Tesla doesn’t even have AutoPilot? Any Tesla owner will tell you AP takes Road Tripping to a whole new level, so if it’s that good without AutoPilot…
Still, I know what you’re thinking…”Are you out of your mind to drive that far?”
Absolutely – But that’s how enjoyable Teslas are to drive…they make you consider crazy adventures. That being said, road tripping does have its benefits.
One is getting to see new places & meet people along the way. Another is getting to visit a place you were born, like Del Rio, a small border town in Texas where I had not been back to since I was 2 months old. When both your parents have passed away over 15 years ago, it brings back fond memories thinking about where they were around the time I was born.
By the way, the small 2 lane road from Del Rio to Ozona was a driver’s dream. A twisty, deserted 113-mile road where I saw maybe 5 other cars was the perfect place to let the Tesla loose. Living in a city, there’s something refreshing about being in a place where you are the only human in sight.
In August of 2018, I set out on my Second 48 State Road Trip. This time it was to promote the last chance to get Free SuperCharging for life. To make it more interesting, I also visited ALL 107 Tesla Stores in the USA and met over 500 incredibly passionate Tesla employees. Thanks for keeping the stores open, Elon! These people are tremendous assets to Tesla. Please note, I did the first 42 States in the 2012 P85, I did the last 6 in my new Performance Model 3. I literally took off within 45 minutes of taking delivery of the lightning-quick Silver Bullet below.
Myth #3 – “Yeah, But SuperCharging Adds So Much Time to Your Trip”
I don’t know about you, but stopping every few hours to eat, use the restroom, catch up on emails/work is a good thing. And since most stops are 20-40 minutes (and will be 1/2 that with the new chargers coming online later this year) often times the car is done charging before you are even done taking care of business.
On a full day of driving for 9 hours in a regular car, it might take you 10 in a Tesla. This is assuming you’re not eating in your car and peeing in a bottle at 80 MPH just to avoid stopping.
But guess what? You will arrive feeling fresher & less stressed from breaking up the drive and have already knocked out some work that would have to be done anyway if you arrived an hour earlier. Let’s not forget SuperCharging is also much cheaper, usually about 1/3 the cost of gas, or like in my case, 100% free if you have an older Tesla.
Myth #4 – “Charging a Tesla is So Inconvenient Compared to Gas”
This is a myth I once believed too.
But once you own one and have a home charger, it’s actually much easier. The “gas station” is in your garage, with – bonus – no oil spots. It takes 5 seconds to plug in at night, and you awake with a full battery every day. Unlike a gas car, you are always multitasking when charging. You’re either sleeping while charging at home, or on a road trip you’re eating, using the restroom or shopping while the car is charging. No more sucking gas fumes while watching your credit card get dangerously close to its limit.
Myth #5 – If You Get in a Wreck it Takes 6 Months to Fix.
Just like the rare Tesla car 🔥, which is headline news even though it happens way more often in gas cars, there’s another blown out of proportion myth that Teslas take forever to get fixed. Yes, there absolutely have been some instances of this, but no one talks about the many times when it gets done quickly. Thanks to a streak of bad luck, I had 4 fender bender incidents (across all 3 Teslas) while the cars were rented out. 3 of the repairs had the parts from Tesla inside of a week, the 4th within 2 weeks. Contrary to what the biased news and haters would have you believe, it’s usually a quick turn around.
Myth #6: “If I Uber or Lyft, People Will Puke in My Tesla”
This is blown way out of proportion. I’ve never had an incident in 1800+ rides and is easily avoided by not driving at 2am. Even for those that choose to work the late shift, it’s pretty rare. The cleanup fee will cover the cost to take it to a detail shop so you’re not stuck dealing with it either way. Personally, I only drive during the day, as I want to have business conversations with sober people.
My goals when driving for Uber or Lyft:
- Spread the word about Tesla
- Replace a polluting gas car with each ride
- Network & meet interesting people
- Discover new parts of town
- Make a bit of extra $
Yes, you can make more $ per hour working late night. However, that’s not what I want to do and the beauty of Uber/Lyft is you can make it work for your own goals.
Coming soon? The Tesla Network That Will Disrupt Ridesharing & Taxis
As much as I like doing Uber & Lyft, the second the Tesla Network of “Self Driving RoboTaxis” is available, I will ditch those services & put my cars on the Tesla Network. Why wouldn’t I? Imagine, I’m at the beach playing volleyball while my car earns me money.
As Elon Musk recently said, I believe it’s a horrible financial decision to buy anything other than a Tesla right now. If you buy a 45K Tesla, in 5 years, you could have made that much back on the car by doing nothing but pressing a button on your app telling your car to go work when you don’t need it. The value of that income-producing car on the used market will FAR outpace any regular car that is now completely outdated. Even if you don’t want to earn $ with the car, the resale values will be incredibly different, as the utility of a Tesla that can go run errands for you will be massively valuable.
Oh, and for those that doubt Tesla & Elon Musk…remember this one small detail.
There is a Tesla Roadster FLOATING IN FREAKING SPACE. Any questions?
Myth #7 – “Nobody Can Afford a Tesla”
Actually, you can’t afford NOT to get a Tesla. Let’s run my same numbers on a $45K Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving (a base model is available for $35,000) and owning it 6 years. Let’s assume zero rentals and zero Uber, but putting it on the Tesla Network in year 3 when it’s available – Elon says it will be sooner but let’s be conservative. This means you can get the same effect, a free Tesla, but without all the time & effort I put into it. A Tesla is still the only car that actually gets better over time with free software updates.
$45,000 – Cost of Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving
-$15,000 – Saved on gas
-$45,000 – Just 15K a year for 3 years with light Tesla Network usage.
= FREE Tesla. Plus $15,000 saved on gas
Even if you don’t want to send your car out to earn you money, the utility of the car (and resale value) will be so much higher than any other car you can buy today.
Imagine having a car that can go pick up your kids at soccer practice while you’re busy fixing dinner? Or having the car drive you home after a few too many drinks at the company Holiday party where you embarrassed yourself in front of the boss’s wife? Don’t worry, the Tesla won’t laugh at you…at least until the next software update.
Final Thoughts
I think the numbers from 100,000 to 200,000 miles bear out the fact that buying a Tesla is not only incredibly fun and rewarding from a driving standpoint, but also a smart financial decision. Couple that with the spacious cargo room, ability to camp in the car, it’s record as the safest car ever tested make it a complete no brainer.
Will I ever consider going back to a gas car?
LOL
Interested in owning a Tesla? Get 5000 Miles of Free SuperCharging
If I’ve inspired anyone to consider a Tesla, please use my Referral Code to order online (or just use the link to configure your dream Tesla) and get 5000 free miles of SuperCharging. Or use the code “Steve1939” if you go to a Tesla Store. Ask them if they met the guy who visited every store…and say hello from me!
Here’s a little recap of my 2015 Road Trip that was 27,615 miles.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h4pS_E-td4[/embedyt]
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