Man who's owned Tesla Model S for 8 years has reached 600,000 miles with only one battery change and says it still 'drives like new'

A Tesla Model S owner has just reached an astonishing 600,000 miles after more than eight years behind the wheel and only one battery change.

Even more impressive is that the EV has needed just one battery replacement during that time.

Australian owner Nigel Raynard says the car still ‘drives like new’ despite being used for hundreds of thousands of miles.

And he has managed to rack up all those miles while replacing the brake pads just once.

This Tesla has covered 600,000 miles

Nigel Raynard, who is based in Byron Bay, Australia, recently shared the incredible EV milestone on X after his Tesla Model S 75D passed 965,606 kilometers – the equivalent of 600,000 miles.

The car has been in his hands for just over eight years, during which time he has used it for a limousine service in the tourist town.

That helps explain how the odometer has climbed so dramatically, but the condition of the car makes the mileage particularly interesting.

Raynard says the original EV battery lasted until the car had covered around 414,000 miles, when an error led to Tesla replacing it under warranty with a 90-kWh battery pack.

The original battery had apparently become very slow to charge by that point, but it had still survived an extraordinary amount of use.

And Raynard’s verdict after hitting 600,000 miles? “Drives like new. Best car I’ve ever owned.”

It has needed surprisingly little maintenance

The battery isn’t the only part of the Model S that has held up remarkably well.

According to Raynard, the Tesla has only needed one set of replacement brake pads during its 600,000-mile life.

That is partly down to regenerative braking, which allows the electric motors to help slow the car without relying as heavily on the conventional brakes.

There have been other repairs, of course like the Model S has received a new air-conditioning system, suspension arms and struts, while the front drive unit mounts and half shafts were recently replaced.

But considering the car has effectively been driven around the world 24 times, its maintenance record is certainly unusual.

Raynard’s Tesla also claims to have saved him 93,877 Australian dollars in fuel costs, which works out at more than $65,000.

The Tesla Model S still has plenty of miles left

The 600,000-mile milestone may sound like the end of the road for an eight-year-old car, but Raynard doesn’t appear to be finished with his Tesla yet.

In fact, the car has already traveled the equivalent of around 2.5 trips from Earth to the Moon, and it is still being used for his limousine business.

This achievement comes as the long-term durability of EV batteries continues to be debated, with battery replacement often cited as one of the biggest concerns surrounding older electric cars.

Today, at just over 8 years of ownership. Six hundred thousand miles.

Changed brake pads once.

Upgraded to 90kWh pack after error at 666,666km under warranty.

New aircon, suspension arms and struts. Did front drive unit mounts and half shafts last week.

Drives like new.… pic.twitter.com/quH92FToMH

— Unique Images Australia (@UniqueImagesAus) September 25, 2026

This particular Model S certainly doesn’t prove that every EV battery will last hundreds of thousands of miles, but it does show just how far an individual electric car can travel before needing a second battery.

And with Raynard already at 600,000 miles, it looks like this Tesla’s next big milestone could be even more ridiculous.