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Tesla Model 3 loses only 2.2% of battery range after four years and 100k miles
The longevity of electric vehicles’ battery packs has always been a tricky subject. Companies like Tesla suggest that their cars’ battery packs are designed to last years, while avid EV skeptics would argue that electric vehicles would need a new battery after a few short years of ownership due to degradation. Fortunately, vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 have been around for several years now, and some can already provide valuable data.
Electric vehicle advocate Andy Slye was among the first customers of the Tesla Model 3, taking delivery of the all-electric sedan at a time when only the Long Range RWD variant was available. Since taking delivery of his Model 3 four years ago, the EV owner was able to rack up 100,000 miles in the vehicle. Over its four years in service, the Model 3 proved to be a car that definitely seems designed to go the distance.
The Model 3 owner’s overall thoughts and insights were summarized in a YouTube video, which he uploaded recently on his personal channel. Yet within the Model 3’s 100,000-mile review, the EV owner mentioned something rather remarkable. Over the four years he’s had the vehicle, and over the 100,000 miles the Tesla had traveled, the all-electric sedan had only lost 2.2% of its range. The vehicle was rated at 310 miles when it was new, and now, its full charge remains listed at 303 miles.
Of course, a lot of this is due to the fact that the 100,000-mile Model 3’s battery was well taken care of, as hinted at by the EV owner regularly plugging in the car at home using Tesla’s home charging solution. Overall, however, it’s difficult not to be impressed with the longevity of the Model 3’s battery. Considering the battery’s 2.2% degradation after four years, the Model 3 owner remarked that he is currently not expecting to replace the car’s battery over the ten years he plans on keeping the vehicle.
There are several iconic high-mileage Teslas across the globe, the most notable of which is arguably the Model S P85 driven by Germany-based Hansjörg Gemmingen, who purchased the car in 2014. As of early January 2022, the Model S road warrior had racked up 1.5 million km (932,256 miles) on its odometer. It has been an eventful road to such a feat, however, as the Model S required a battery change at 470,000 km (292,044 miles). Three electric motors were also worn out on the Model S’ journey to 1 million km (621,371 miles).
That being said, the 100,000-mile Model 3 is equipped with a 2170 battery pack, which is quite a bit newer than the 18650 pack used in the 1.5 million km Model S. Overall, it would not be surprising if Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y 2170 batteries end up lasting very long with very little degradation. Tesla is just getting started, however, as the company is also hard at work in developing its next generation of batteries, the 4680 cells, which would make their debut in the Made-in-Texas Model Y later this year.
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Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
SpaceX aired its first-ever Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, marking a rare move into mass-market advertising as it seeks to broaden adoption of its Starlink satellite internet service.
Starlink Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
The advertisement highlighted Starlink’s global coverage and emphasized simplified customer onboarding, stating that users can sign up for service in minutes through the company’s website or by phone in the United States.
The campaign comes as SpaceX accelerates Starlink’s commercial expansion. The satellite internet service grew its global user base in 2025 to over 9 million subscribers and entered several dozen additional markets, as per company statements.
Starlink growth and momentum
Starlink has seen notable success in numerous regions across the globe. Brazil, in particular, has become one of Starlink’s largest growth regions, recently surpassing one million users, as per Ookla data. The company has also expanded beyond residential broadband into aviation connectivity and its emerging direct-to-cellular service.
Starlink has recently offered aggressive promotions in select regions, including discounted or free hardware, waived installation fees, and reduced monthly pricing. Some regions even include free Starlink Mini for select subscribers. In parallel, SpaceX has introduced AI-driven tools to streamline customer sign-ups and service selection.
The Super Bowl appearance hints at a notable shift for Starlink, which previously relied largely on organic growth and enterprise contracts. The ad suggests SpaceX is positioning Starlink as a mainstream alternative to traditional broadband providers.
Tesla engineers deflected calls from Apple on a daily basis while the tech giant was developing its now-defunct electric vehicle program, which was known as “Project Titan.”
Back in 2022 and 2023, Apple was developing an EV in a top-secret internal fashion, hoping to launch it by 2028 with a fully autonomous driving suite.
However, Apple bailed on the project in early 2024, as Project Titan abandoned the project in an email to over 2,000 employees. The company had backtracked its expectations for the vehicle on several occasions, initially hoping to launch it with no human driving controls and only with an autonomous driving suite.
Apple canceling its EV has drawn a wide array of reactions across tech
It then planned for a 2028 launch with “limited autonomous driving.” But it seemed to be a bit of a concession at that point; Apple was not prepared to take on industry giants like Tesla.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives noted in a communication to investors that, “The writing was on the wall for Apple with a much different EV landscape forming that would have made this an uphill battle. Most of these Project Titan engineers are now all focused on AI at Apple, which is the right move.”
Apple did all it could to develop a competitive EV that would attract car buyers, including attempting to poach top talent from Tesla.
In a new podcast interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it was revealed that Apple had been calling Tesla engineers nonstop during its development of the now-defunct project. Musk said the engineers “just unplugged their phones.”
Musk said in full:
“They were carpet bombing Tesla with recruiting calls. Engineers just unplugged their phones. Their opening offer without any interview would be double the compensation at Tesla.”
Interestingly, Apple had acquired some ex-Tesla employees for its project, like Senior Director of Engineering Dr. Michael Schwekutsch, who eventually left for Archer Aviation.
Tesla took no legal action against Apple for attempting to poach its employees, as it has with other companies. It came after EV rival Rivian in mid-2020, after stating an “alarming pattern” of poaching employees was noticed.
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
Tesla engineers deflected calls from this tech giant’s now-defunct EV project
