For years, EV owners have been warned that relying too heavily on fast chargers could seriously damage battery health. The common advice has always been simple: charge at home whenever possible and avoid frequent DC fast charging if you want your battery to last.
But one high-mileage Tesla Model Y is starting to challenge that idea.
A pre-facelift Tesla Model Y that previously worked as a taxi in the UK has now covered more than 111,000 miles, and despite spending almost its entire life plugged into fast chargers, its battery is still holding up surprisingly well.
The car was recently inspected by Richard Symons, a British YouTuber and used EV specialist, who looked through the vehicle’s battery data to see just how much degradation had taken place after years of heavy use.
What makes this particular Model Y so interesting is that it has barely used home charging at all.
According to the car’s records, only 36 kWh of energy came from AC charging, while more than 32,600 kWh came from DC fast charging and regenerative braking. In other words, this Tesla has spent nearly all of its life relying on rapid chargers.
Despite that, the battery still shows a healthy 92% state of health.
That means the Model Y can still deliver roughly 92% of the range it offered when it was brand new, which is a very impressive result for a car that has worked as a taxi and covered well over 100,000 miles.
The secret appears to be the type of battery pack Tesla used in this version of the Model Y.
Unlike older Teslas that use nickel manganese cobalt batteries, this particular Model Y comes with a lithium iron phosphate battery, better known as LFP.
LFP batteries are generally more durable over the long term, can be charged to 100% more regularly, and are often better suited to repeated charging cycles. They are also cheaper to produce, although they do not offer the same energy density as NMC batteries, which means slightly less range from a similarly sized pack.
That difference in battery chemistry may be more important than many people realize.
For example, another Tesla owner previously tested a 2019 Model 3 Performance with a similar mileage and found that its battery health had fallen to 79%, despite the fact that the car was charged mostly at home rather than at fast chargers.
That Model 3 used an NMC battery, which suggests that the type of battery may have a bigger impact on long-term health than charging habits alone.
Of course, all EV batteries lose capacity over time, regardless of how they are charged. But newer battery technology appears to be far more durable than many people expected. In fact, recent data increasingly suggests that modern EV battery packs could end up lasting longer than the cars they are fitted in.
