This is what happens to your EV if you leave it parked for 30 days

  • This YouTuber wanted to see what would happen if he left an EV parked for 30 days
  • Alongside his Tesla, he parked up a gas powered Lexus for a direct comparison
  • The results of this experiment were pretty remarkable

Published on Mar 17, 2025 at 1:05 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson

Last updated on Mar 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

This Californian YouTuber left his Tesla parked for 30 days to see what would happen to an EV after all that time.

Chris, the host of Everyday Chris, was curious about what would happen to his Tesla if he left it stationary for too long.

Given that the car’s battery would still be losing power even while sitting still, it was a worthwhile experiment.

And to make things extra interesting, he left a gas-powered Lexus parked for the same amount of time, to draw a direct comparison.

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Leaving a Tesla EV parked for 30 days – a recipe for disaster?

When it comes to EVs and gas cars, there’s a ton of ways in which they can be compared.

One study looked at the operating costs for EVs and gas cars. It found that electric came out on top as the cheaper option.

Even among EVs, there are ways in which they can be compared. Like this study which revealed that Tesla came out on top for longevity compared to other electric cars.

So, it’s only natural that someone would want to pit a Tesla and a gas car against each other when it came to remaining completely still.

After all, if you leave your car in an airport parking lot whilst you jet off on vacation, you wouldn’t like to come home to a dead car, would you?

Before he began his 30 day experiment, Chris switched off everything in his Tesla.

It was at 91.8 percent charge at the beginning, with 15.3 volts and 308 miles of range left.

Over in the gas car, a quarter tank was left, which translates to about 256 miles worth of fuel.

Very little changed over the next few days.

But by day three, the Tesla had lost two miles.

Was this a sign of things to come?

How things turned out at the end of the month

Chris realized that he was draining the Tesla’s battery each time he checked the app, so he opted to only do this every few days.

The average seemed to be two miles lost every three days.

Chris’ method of keeping track of the days was to plaster sheets of paper over the Tesla.

This naturally attracted some attention in the neighborhood.

It even led one person to leave their own note, in which they blasted the YouTuber as a ‘weirdo’.

They assumed that the paper sheets had been left by someone who was salty at the car being parked out on the street.

At any rate, it wasn’t Tesla that anyone needed to be worried about.

Believe it or not, the Lexus died on Chris, and he was unable to get it started.

“Now I have to go get my jump starter, which is in my Tesla,” he said.

Besides setting off the car alarm, his jump start didn’t achieve anything and he had to call up a towing company.

Meanwhile, the Tesla had reached its 30th day at a standstill.

It’s battery percentage had only fallen to 87 percent, or 294 miles.

“In 30 days, I only lost five percent battery, which is equivalent to only 16 miles of range.

“And my car didn’t die, it’s perfect!

“Parking a Tesla long-term isn’t that bad!” he concluded.

Chris recommended that anybody leaving their Tesla parked for a long period of time make use of a charger if they had one available, and to turn off any battery draining settings.

And that includes checking the app.

To see Chris’ experiment for yourself, head to Everyday Chris’ YouTube channel.

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Ben Thompson is a Senior Content Writer at supercarblondie.com. Ben has more than four years experience as a qualified journalist, having graduated with a Multimedia Journalism degree from News Associates. Ben specializes in writing about Teslas, tech and celebrity car collections.