An Australian owner of a Tesla Model S has driven the electric car nearly 965,000 km over eight years. During that time, the liftback had its battery, air conditioning and some suspension components replaced, but according to its owner the car still "drives like new" — and, most importantly, it has saved him almost $69,500 in fuel costs (about 34 million tenge), reports infohub.kz.

The Tesla Model S belongs to Nigel Raynard of Byron Bay. The car is used for passenger transport and business. Over eight years, he has covered 600,000 miles — about 965,000 km. The owner himself compared that distance to 24 trips around the world.

The original battery lasted until 666,666 km. After an error appeared, the pack was replaced under warranty with an upgraded 90 kWh unit. The air conditioning, control arms and suspension struts also had to be replaced. Recently, the owner installed new front drive mounts and half-shafts.

"Today, after a little over 8 years of ownership. Six hundred thousand miles. Brake pads replaced once. Switched to a 90 kWh battery after an error at 666,666 km under warranty. New air conditioning, control arms and suspension struts. Last week did the front drive mounts and half-shafts. Drives like new," Raynard wrote on X.

By Raynard's calculations, since he bought the Model S in August 2018, the electric car has saved him about $69,500 in fuel costs. According to data from the TezLab app, 92% of charges were fast ones — a total of 3,963 DC charging sessions. After the new battery was installed, average energy consumption came to 186 Wh/km.

The owner replaced tires as they wore out: one set lasted between 50,000 and 70,000 km. The brake pads were changed only once — possibly thanks to heavy use of regenerative braking.

Asked how to keep a Tesla in good condition at high mileage, Raynard gave a simple answer: keep an eye on consumables and maintenance. In particular, he recommends replacing windshield wiper blades, filters and the low-voltage battery on time.

During the battery swap, the owner went without the car for just two days. Now the Model S, with nearly a million kilometers on the odometer, is still carrying passengers.

Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported how a Tesla Model 3 in the United States covered more than 610,000 km on its original battery.