A man who has owned a Tesla EV for over eight years has driven it to over 600,000 miles, and all while it has had just one replacement battery. Australian owner Nigel Raynard has said his Tesla Model S still runs like new despite the miles it’s done.
Reynard has said on social media that the car still runs like new, despite having done a truly incredible number of miles. Reynard’s EV dispels the myth that electric cars are less reliable than those with internal combustion engines.
Reynard posted the achievement on X and offered a little detail as to how he has used the car and how it’s racked up so many miles. A short video showed the EV tick over from 599,000 to 600,000 miles. The Australian also revealed that the car has only had one replacement set of brake pads over those eight years, despite its regular use. Only a handful of original components needed replacing in total.
What is even more remarkable is that the original battery in the car did over two-thirds of the car’s total mileage. Even then, the original battery still worked; it had just become very slow to recharge. Reynard even went as far as to describe the Model S as the best car he has ever owned.
How Did the Tesla Model S Do So Many Miles?
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. Best car I’ve ever owned. Ask me anything related to service. See the history for a laugh. And people are still discussing the benefits of a Tesla, get with the program later adopters 😂
— Unique Images Australia (@UniqueImagesAus) September 25, 2026
According to Reynard, who is based in Byron Bay, Australia, the car achieved its milestone in September 2026. The Australian has actually used the car for a limousine service in the tourist town, which partially explains how it was able to rack up so many miles so quickly. The Model S 75D racked up the rest as a daily driver and for the odd longer trip.
Reynard explained on X that he changed the car’s brake pads only once. Regarding the battery, he upgraded the Model S to a 90kWh battery pack after charging began to slow down. The battery also threw up an error at 666,666km, or roughly 414,247 miles. Following this, Tesla has been nearly faultless, and it has done the equivalent of 2.5 trips to the moon over the last eight years.
The only other parts replaced due to wear have been the air conditioning system, suspension arms, and the struts. Reynard also recently replaced the front drive unit mounts and half shafts, but none of this was due to a major failure. Reynard just needed to replace the parts due to wear. All of these parts were replaced under his warranty, which lasted for unlimited miles but would expire after an eight-year period.
How Does the Car Drive Now?
In his social media posts, Reynard had a simple explanation for how well the car was driving. “Drives like new. Best car I’ve ever owned,” he said on X. In terms of fuel costs, Reynard said he has saved 93,877 Australian dollars over the time he has owned the EV, which is roughly $65,000. The car has effectively been driven around the world 24 times, so it’s done more than enough to prove its reliability.
You might expect Reynard to slow down how much he uses the car now that it has reached this milestone. But the Australian is still using it for his limousine business, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. With the only major powertrain component replaced being the battery, it shows the reliability of EVs and dispels many of the myths that surround them.
So if you were interested in a Tesla Model S but were unsure of its reliability, then it looks like you don’t need to worry at all.