Electric Advice

Sound has never been a hotter topic in the world of cars than it has been in the past decade. From the introduction of hybrid and electric vehicles to even the more muted soundtrack of modern F1 cars, the noise cars make has become a major talking point.

How long does a Tesla battery last? According to official Tesla-sourced data, Tesla batteries lose between 12 and 15 per cent of their capacity, on average, after approximately 321,868km (200,000 miles in American speak) of usage. If this data is correct, the average Australian driver won’t need to consider replacing their Tesla battery until 26 years into ownership, because the national average driver travels a touch over 12,000km a year. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest people who buy Teslas, or electric vehicles in general, travel fewer kilometres than the average driver. Tesla battery lifespan is the kind of thing EV shoppers consider carefully, because they’ve all owned Apple iPhones, or Microsoft laptops, and noticed that battery life seems definitively finite. It’s important to realise, of course, that the batteries in an EV are vastly bigger. Elon Musk is aware, of course, that Tesla battery life is something buyers worry about, and it provides an eight-year/192,000km warranty with the purchase of all Australian-delivered vehicles, except the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, which come with a similar eight-year/160,000km warranty. The terms of these warranties are as follows; if the Tesla battery drops below 70 per cent capacity in less than the aforementioned time period or distance, Tesla covers the cost of a replacement battery. Replacement batteries for a Tesla can cost anywhere from $15,000 up to $20,000 across all models. A study in April 2024 by British motoring insurance company NimbleFins - which examined nine years of Tesla battery lifetime data - found the batteries should deteriorate by around one per cent of their range per year. In terms of how you can look after your battery, there are multiple factors that affect Tesla battery lifespan. For any electric vehicle, you want to avoid fully charging the battery to 100 pre cent regularly, to preserve maximum battery capacity. Canadian lithium-ion battery researcher Jeff Dahn claims that, treated properly and kept in the right “voltage window”, a Tesla battery can stay fully operational for 100 years, or 1.6 million kilometres. Dr Adam Best (just call him Dr Best), Principal Battery Researcher at our own CSIRO, claims that, if owners employ the appropriate maintenance techniques to prolong battery health, Tesla batteries can achieve a “pretty impressive life cycle”. But what are these maintenance techniques? Dr Best suggests you try to keep the charge level always between 20 per cent and 80 per cent, as opposed to running the battery from zero to 100 and back again, which will “help to extend the life of your EV”, regardless of battery chemistry and composition. Teslas predominantly run on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) chemically composed batteries, while other brands like Polestar use nickel manganese cobalt (NMC). Both NCA and NMC batteries thrive in conditions where they aren’t being charged to maximum capacity and drained to empty. So if you are a responsible and battery-conscious EV driver, who can you know if your EV is responding well to your gentle treatment? What are the signs that your battery is dying, or that it’s functioning properly? Other than the most obvious indicator of declining battery capacity - getting less mileage out of each charge - other signs that your EV’s battery might be suffering are slower charging times, a change in the driving sensation (sluggishness, lack of responsiveness), strange smells or noises while charging or driving, and, of course, the Tesla multimedia system telling you that your battery may be in decline. In terms of real-world results, it’s also worth pointing to a test conducted by a Tesla Model S 70D owner, Branden Flasch. Branden's vehicle had reportedly travelled 234,964km when he put his Tesla battery to the test, and the results were very impressive. The Model S in question was purchased in 2015, and its owner charged it to 99 per cent before the test, and then drove it until the batteries were completely depleted, measuring its kWh usage to check the battery's depletion. The reported results have the Model S using 58.5kWh, roughly 83 per cent of their original 70kWh capacity.

Why are Chery cars so cheap?

Who owns Polestar? The answer isn’t quite as straightforward as you may think. While Polestar began as a Volvo subsidiary the brand is actually part of the Geely automotive empire, alongside the likes of Volvo, Lotus and Zeekr. If it feels like Polestar started in a flash, that’s because it did - both metaphorically and literally. Polestar is a performance electric brand that first came to prominence as Volvo’s performance and racing division, but is now solely focused on building the most sustainable automobiles possible. But who owns Polestar? Who makes Polestar cars? Where are Polestar cars manufactured? We’ll answer all those questions and more in this deep dive into the brand’s past, present and future. Originally the company was a joint-venture between Volvo and Geely, but the Swedish brand decided to divest the majority of its stake in the operation, making Geely the primary Polestar parent company. Geely founder Li Shufu owns a significant stake in the brand via his personal company, PSD Investment. So, how did Polestar begin in a flash? Well, the brand’s origins trace all the way back to 1996 and a Swedish touring car racing team called Flash Engineering. The name came from team owner Jan ‘Flash’ Nilsson, who had a history racing Volvos. In 2005 he sold his team to businessman Christian Dahl, who renamed the team to Polestar Racing and began forging deeper ties with Volvo. In 2010, Geely took over Volvo from the Ford Motor Company as part of its first steps towards international expansion. Then in 2013 the first Polestar Performance road car project was launched with the S60 Polestar. This was an Australian initiative originally, designed to coincide with a Volvo/Polestar entry into the V8 Supercars championship. The road car project went global in 2014 and by 2015 Volvo had decided to buy Polestar Performance and establish it as its own in-house brand. In 2017 Geely and Volvo made the dramatic shift away from performance and instead reinvented Polestar as an electric vehicle brand, launching the Polestar 1 coupe in October that year (a model that was never offered in Australia). By 2019 the Polestar 2 small sedan/hatchback had arrived as a rival to the Tesla Model 3 and then in 2024 the brand added the Polestar 3 mid-size SUV and Polestar 4 SUV ‘coupe’ to the line-up. While the brand likes to highlight its Swedish heritage it has taken a more global approach to production. Polestar’s headquarters is in Gothenburg, Sweden, which is where it designs all of its cars.  Production takes advantage of Geely’s Chinese manufacturing base, as well as the brand’s other industry connections to keep costs and emissions during production down. Because of that the Polestar 2 is built in China, the Polestar 3 is made in China and the USA and the Polestar 4 is produced at factories in China and South Korea. Polestar currently offers three models for sale - the Polestar 2, Polestar 3 and Polestar 4. The Polestar 2 is a mid-size sedan/hatchback that rivals the likes of the BMW i4, BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3. The Polestar 3 is a mid-size SUV based on the same underpinnings as Volvo’s EX90 and has been designed to sit above the sportier Polestar 4 coupe-style SUV. While similar in size, the 4 is built on different underpinnings, the so-called 'Sustainable Experience Architecture' that is the basis for Volvo EM90 and Zeekr 001, amongst others. The brand has already confirmed three more models , scheduled to arrive by the end of the decade. The first will be the Polestar 5 (you may have a feel for the brand’s naming protocol by now) which will be based on the Premacy concept, due by the end of 2025. It is reportedly a mid-size sedan to challenge the likes of the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT. The Polestar 6 will be a sports car, based on the O2 concept, was meant to arrive in 2026 but development of this hero model has been delayed to prioritise the Polestar 7, which is expected to be a compact SUV to sit underneath the Polestar 3. 

Trying to pin down the cost of a Tesla in Australia is a bit like swatting a fly - just when you think you’ve got it locked in it suddenly changes.

Public charging and electric vehicles go together like the chicken and the egg - you can’t have one without the other.

What is the best car for Uber in Australia? The obvious answer is a Toyota Camry Hybrid. That’s not just because it seems like almost every other Uber you catch is a Camry, nor even because Uber’s own research reveals that it’s the most popular model of car used by its gig economy drivers in Australia, it’s because it really is the best blend of comfort, space and economy for taxi-style work.

January 1, 2025 will be an important date for anyone that drives a car, ute, SUV or any type of motor vehicle in Australia. That date will mark the introduction of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), the Federal Government’s attempt to cut harmful new vehicle emissions as part of its wider climate change policy.

How long does it take to charge a Tesla? Well, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 hours, or more, depending on what kind of charging equipment you’re using, which model Tesla you’re charging and how you define 'charge'.

How much fuel can you claim on tax without receipts? Providing you use your car for work, you can claim up to $4250 worth of fuel on your annual tax return without receipts for the 2023-24 financial year.