This information was obtained by the American company Current Automotive, which specializes in the sale and maintenance of used electric cars. Its specialists found on the Internet an invoice issued for repair services for one of the Tesla Model 3 by an authorized Tesla service center. In this case, the car was brought in for restoration after serious damage – it was involved in an accident in which it "hit" a stone, causing the battery to fail. At the same time, the automaker disclaimed responsibility and refused to fix the "three" for free, since the battery warranty (8 years or 160,000 miles (257.5 thousand km)) covers defects and problems that arose during production, but not damage that occurred due to the owner's fault.
So, according to the document, a total of $16,550.67 was paid for the Tesla repair. The battery itself cost $13,500, another $2,299.27 went to pay for the mechanics' work (total – almost $15,900). The remaining amount was spent on replacing other parts damaged in the accident – in particular, the protective plate on the bottom and body kit elements.
Most likely, these costs fell on the shoulders of not the owner himself, but his insurance. Nevertheless, this is a serious wake-up call at least for those owners of "electric cars" who do not have a policy.
By the way, over $16,500 is a lot of money even for Americans. In the USA, for that price you can buy, for example, a new Hyundai Accent or a good used car. As for the cost of the Tesla Model 3, in America prices for this car start from $36,490, and taking into account local benefits – about $30 thousand. That is, in this particular case, replacing the battery cost half the price of the car itself.
It should be noted that earlier Tesla introduced deeply modernized versions of its older models - Model S and Model X. Among other things, they received a yoke instead of a steering wheel and three-motor modifications called Plaid.
