It sounded very impressive yesterday when I read that the cumulative distance driven by all the Tesla cars in the world have reached 10 million miles (16 million kilometers). However, I couldn’t help reaching for my calculator and cranking out a few numbers and although I hate to use averages the lack of more detailed data gave me little choice. So on the basis my head is in the oven and my feet are in the fridge so on average I feel great….I will continue with all the scientific rigor of a Top Gear presenter!
Ten million miles divided by 1,500 cars is 6,666 miles per car. The first car was delivered to the Founder Elon Musk in Feb 2008 and between then and July 2009 another 500 were delivered to customers. Thats 500 in the first 17 months and about 1000 in the following 10 months (July 2009 – March 2011). On average a Tesla is about 15 months old. That gives us a monthly drive of about 444 miles or about 15 miles every day on average or given its range per charge of 244 miles – one careful trip to Las Vegas and back. Some drivers are probably driving further and some less. I know of at least one Tesla that was parked up so long in a its LA garage that rats ate the wiring harness.
I just can’t help wonder how valuable Teslas contribution to our environment really is?
