Generally speaking, electric vehicles are known to be cheaper to own but when it comes to collision damage it’s a different story. Instead of just being wildly expensive to fix it turns out that many damaged EVs just end up getting totaled out by insurance companies. A group of Tesla Model Ys demonstrates the problem.
Electric cars are typically cheaper to run than an equivalent combustion vehicle. That comes down to fuel and maintenance costs. When collision damage comes into play, electric cars can cost exponentially more to repair though. While this story focuses on evidence surrounding Teslas it’s worth noting that other brands like Lucid and Rivian seem to have similar issues.
Tesla, and subsequently other new EV brands, have a number of factors that drive up pricing when it comes to repairing the damage. They’re luxury vehicles which alone increases repair costs and on top of that, aftermarket options are scarce. Additionally, these highly-technical machines have a number of sensors in areas prone to damage like the bumpers.
More: The Shocking Cost Of EV Battery Replacement
Earlier this year, Reuters reported on a study by two major salvage companies that found a “vast majority” of Tesla Model Ys that were totaled with less than 10,000 miles on the odometer. What exactly a “vast majority” is they don’t say. They also don’t give us any information on how many of these vehicles had unquestionably irreparable damage.
In an anecdotal example linked below, noteworthy Tesla-centric Youtuber Ryan Shaw says a fender bender that damaged his rear bumper resulted in a bill of $8,701.33. In a second rear-end collision, his Tesla was so badly damaged that it couldn’t drive away. The cost of completely repairing the car came in at $23,614.
None of that addresses another big issue with some Teslas specifically, namely, their integrated battery packs. Should one of those be damaged, there’s no way to repair it which means it goes straight to the salvage lot. It’s worth noting that both CEO Elon Musk and Tesla in general seem to understand the need to drive down the price of repairs.
Insider cites Musk as calling the costs “unreasonably high” and also lamenting the situation that Tesla owners can sometimes be in. “So if you’re waiting for a part to get repaired and that part takes a month, now you’ve got a month of having to rent another car. It’s extremely expensive,” Musk said in January. “And, of course, you’re missing the car that you love and the one you actually want to drive. So this has actually a very significant effect on the total cost of ownership and customer happiness.”
Until a long-term fix is found, high-end EV owners, and especially Tesla owners, are at the mercy of insurance companies and repair facilities should they be in an accident. For those considering the purchase of one such EV, it’s worth taking into account the potential cost associated with such damage before forking over a boatload of cash.