Tesla owner braces for bad news on his 10-year-old, 140,000-mile Model S, then the battery test results leave him completely speechless

A Tesla Model S owner recently found out something surprising about his 10-year-old, 140,000-mile electric vehicle after putting it through a battery test. The results left him completely speechless and sparked a lot of conversation online about how well older EVs can hold up over time.

According to Super Car Blondie, the owner, known as TESLA Model S Adventures on YouTube, drives a Model S 85D. This is an older version of a car that is no longer in production. Tesla changed its naming system back in 2019, dropping names like 75D, 85D, 90D, 100D, and P100D in favor of simpler options like Standard Range, Long Range, and Performance.

Despite having a decade of use and 140,000 miles on the odometer, the car’s battery condition turned out to be very good. There was a reported 12 percent battery degradation, but what happened next was unexpected. The car nearly matched its original EPA range, and in one particular test, it actually exceeded it.

A 10-year-old Tesla with 140,000 miles beating its original range rating is hard to believe, but the numbers back it up

The owner drove his Model S through the Carpathian Mountains in Europe, covering 707 kilometers. During the drive, the car averaged 152Wh/km. That translated to a real-world range of 452 kilometers, or about 280 miles. The original factory rating for this Model S was 435 kilometers, meaning this car, with its 12 percent degradation and high mileage, delivered more range than it was rated for when it was brand new.

Some might wonder if the result was skewed by a lot of downhill driving. While descending does allow for energy recovery through regenerative braking, the climbs typically offset those gains. So the result averaged out fairly, making it a legitimate figure. It is also worth noting that Tesla has been making major changes lately, with Elon Musk discontinuing two of Tesla’s most iconic vehicles to shift factory production toward a different product entirely.

This outcome is remarkable for an electric car that is over ten years old. Many skeptics have long argued that EV batteries degrade too quickly to make them a practical long-term investment, but results like this challenge that view directly.

It serves as proof that, in some cases, battery electric vehicles can last much longer and perform much better than many people expected. At the same time, Tesla has faced its share of controversies, including a website that was allegedly exposing personal details of Tesla owners across the United States.