We Don’t Need No Flaming Sparky Cars

Alternative Subsidy 22 Comments

Tuomas Katainen’s 2013 Model S was in the shop for more than a month…

When he heard back from the shop, they told him they couldn’t repair his car, and the only option was to change the entire battery cell.

Katainen said the fix would’ve cost him upwards of €20,000 ($22,500). He told the dealership that was absurd, and he donated the car to a Finnish YouTube channel Pommijätkät, whose name literally translates to ‘Bomb Dudes.’

h/t Raymond

22 Replies to “We Don’t Need No Flaming Sparky Cars”

  1. Wow, to be able to afford a >CA$100 thousand vehicle and then blow it up because the repair bill exceeds $20 thousand. I wish I could afford his problems.

    1. A twenty grand loss is easier to afford when the taxpayer was on the hook for your purchase.

  2. That’s a C$29,025.00 bill to replace the battery in a 12 year old Tesla. Ouch! I liked the implosion technique for disposal although I’m not sure the lithium battery dust and other heavy metals would be the best thing for the resulting runoff. Maybe the Finns aren’t that fussy about the quality of their fish.

    1. Beyond the battery … there’s the bit about repeated, multiple, error codes. Imagine driving your most frustrating iPad experience ?

    2. Eight years. And in all fairness, a lot of ICE cars won’t last that long without needing an overhaul that’s prohibitively expensive.

      There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with Teslas beyond all the subsidies and market distortions. Absent those, electric cars would be a niche racing genre and a rich man’s toy, and that’s fine.

      1. My ICE vehicle is 20 years old, 240,000 kms and still going strong, – no major repairs to date and none anticipated.

        50 years ago they didn’t last anywhere near that long, but modern ICE vehicles, if properly cared for, should be good for 500,000 kms.

      2. 2008 Toyota. 390,000km.
        Other than ongoing maintenance I had to replace the alternator ($500).
        Still runs great.

        2. 1994 Toyota land cruiser FJ-80.
          320.000miles. No major issues other than just basic stuff. Tires, brakes stuff like that.
          I drive it hard and go over landing in the WA state mountains.

  3. An excellent example of revenge in the form of “I-won’t-put-you-out-of- business-but-I’ll-sure-damage-your-business”.

  4. That was a common problem with the Model S. It was fixed when The Model T was released. It had a crank you could use if the battery died.

  6. Elon best take all those options and sell.

    Gotta real nice,One Owner, EV fir sale, low miles, only 8-something yrs old. Starts good.

    Change out lead acid battery every seven years. Less than battery AND alternator.

  7. That was a most satisfying explosion. My only regret is the Tesla wasn’t full of Canadian Cabinet Ministers.

  8. My 2000 Chevy Silverado is now old enough to drink and vote and going strong at 260,000 miles.

    Will an electric vehicle do the same? Do they make a 4WD Electric Vehicle? Will a battery last that long? Or do you throw the whole seven year old car away when the battery loses capacity? Will the car even be paid off before the battery dies? What is the resale value? Just Scrap value? Imagine me going through three whole vehicles instead?

    Will a modern High MPG vehicle perform the same? How about the 12 speed transmission? the Turbocharger?
    How much energy is used to create a new car or truck? How much energy is used in disposing of an old car or truck?
    How many more injuries and deaths will happen because these vehicles are lighter and less crash proof?

    1. I believe the average new car loan is now at 7 years; so maybe the owner gets a year off, after having paid it off, before having to finance the purchase of a new battery.

    2. Many an EV is 4WD (or AWD) because they have motors on each wheel (like the original Hummer).
      Don’t know if an EV has the equivalent of a locking-differential.

      I wouldn’t want to take an EV into the mud to try. I imagine a coating of mud on the bottom of an EV would heat the battery to the point of ignition.

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