Owner Breaks Down The Costs
The Tesla Model Y was crowned the best-selling car in the world last year–not just EVs but cars in general–so it must be doing something right.
We’ve covered several owner reviews on InsideEVs in the past, and this time it’s Ben Sullins’ turn to give us his thoughts after owning Tesla’s entry-level crossover for four years.
No headaches and a lot of money saved on fuel
Ben Sullins, who has a YouTube channel with 262,000 subscribers, posted a video talking about his ownership experience after four years and 45,000 miles with a 2020 Tesla Model Y all-wheel drive long-range. After breaking down the costs, he saved over $5,000 in fuel costs compared to a gas-powered car.
One of the first things mentioned in the video embedded at the top of this page is that during his 45,000-mile ownership, Sullins didn’t experience any major problems with the car.
The interior held up pretty well, without any major issues on the seats, but it’s worth mentioning that both the exterior and the interior have been ceramic-coated, so that helped keep everything relatively clean.
Referring to the infotainment, Ben Sullins said that while it’s very responsive and feature-rich, it would be better if it had Apple CarPlay support because you wouldn’t need to log into every separate app individually
Regarding the range, it’s “good enough,” but Sullins mentions that new buyers need to be aware that Tesla only recommends charging the car up to 80% state of charge for daily driving, meaning that you won’t get the entire claimed range. EVs that are powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries don’t have this limitation, but those that come from the factory with a nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) pack, like the Long Range Model Y, need to be taken care of differently.
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Furthermore, the driving experience can change during the ownership of a Tesla EV because the carmaker sometimes auto-enables new features that come with software updates, which can be scary for drivers.
As costs go, this particular 2020 Model Y had a final price of $63,190 when it was purchased in March 2020, including a few optional features like the so-called Full Self-Driving and 20-inch wheels.
In the maintenance department, Sullins’ Model Y needed a new set of tires that cost $2,000 but no other repairs or issues have had to be paid out of pocket because the car is still under warranty, having driven around 45,000 miles so far.
When it comes to charging at home, the price paid for electricity rounds out to approximately $1,620, thanks to a cost of just $0.15 per kilowatt-hour in San Diego. Compared to a gas-powered car that averages 25 miles per gallon and the cost of fuel at $4/gallon, the Model Y saved the Sullins family a little over $5,500 in fuel costs alone over the course of four years.
The video embedded at the top of this page also talks about Autopilot, FSD and a bunch of other stuff, so go ahead and click play. Then, let us know what you think in the comments below.
