Man who's owned Tesla Model 3 Performance for 2 years and 40,000 miles shares full breakdown of costs and battery health

After two years and more than 40,000 miles behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 Performance, one owner decided to reveal the real story about EV costs and long-term ownership.

Youtuber Nice & EV posted a detailed breakdown covering everything from insurance and charging to maintenance and battery health.

With electric cars still surrounded by myths and debates online, his experience offered a refreshing look at what daily life with a high-performance EV actually looked like.

And surprisingly, the numbers ended up being far lower than many people expected.

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Tesla vehicles don’t follow a fixed maintenance schedule

The YouTuber originally bought the car in late 2023, taking advantage of a zero percent financing offer from Tesla.

Since then, the Tesla Model 3 Performance had served as the household’s only vehicle, meaning it handled daily commuting, errands, and long-distance trips alike.

Despite covering 40,000 miles in just two years, the servicing costs were essentially nonexistent.

Unlike many traditional cars that require scheduled servicing every year or after a certain mileage, Tesla vehicles don’t follow a fixed maintenance schedule.

Over the entire ownership period, the driver said the car had cost ‘nothing’ in servicing fees.

Maintenance was also minimal.

Tesla only recommends replacing cabin air filters every two years and occasionally changing windshield wipers.

In fact, the only routine upkeep the owner had needed so far was topping up windshield washer fluid.

Insurance, however, was one area where costs were noticeable.

In the first year, the policy came in at £898 ($1,210), partly due to rising insurance prices and the car’s high performance classification.

By the second year, the price had dropped to £656 ($884), which the owner considered reasonable for a car originally priced around £58,000 ($78,100) with sports-car levels of acceleration.

The Tesla Model 3 Performance has sufficient range for daily needs

One of the biggest questions surrounding EV ownership is battery health.

When the car was brand new, it showed an estimated range of around 305 miles on a full charge.

After two years and 40,000 miles, the owner estimated roughly 11 percent battery degradation.

While that might sound concerning to some, the real-world impact was minimal.

Even with the reduced capacity, the car could still comfortably travel between 250 and 280 miles per charge, which easily covered the YouTuber’s daily driving needs.

Charging was also remarkably cheap thanks to home charging.

Using a home wall charger paired with a discounted overnight electricity tariff, he reported paying roughly £5 ($6.70) to charge the battery from empty to full, enough for around 250 to 280 miles of driving.

As for reliability, only two minor issues appeared during the entire ownership period: a faulty side camera and some wind noise from a door seal.

However, both were repaired under warranty by Tesla’s mobile service technicians.

After 40,000 miles, the verdict was clear.

According to the YouTuber, not only was this the best car he had ever driven, it was also one of the cheapest to run.

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