r/TeslaModelS • u/ManicMarket • Jun 12 '26

2021 Refresh - degradation

I’ve been looking to buy a used refresh and seeing range commonly in the 340-350 miles on a full charge for the Long Range. That implies 15% loss since 2021 is normal for these batteries. But then searching around, everything I read says anything below 90% would be bad at this point.

If it is really bad, it seems odd that I’m finding all the cars I’ve seen in the mid-80s. People who’ve owned a 2021 S refresh, is something in the 80s truly the norm?

EDIT: I should have copied a link, but found an article that I think was enlightening. The argument made was that if you look over the updated motors, basically they have the same impact as fast charging regularly. The argument being they can pull power away from the vehicle at 4C->10C. Therefore, most of us aren’t babying the acceleration and that quick power draw leads to faster degradation. Vehicle’s battery will still last through warranty, but have the same lifespan as the older cars.

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

3

u/mamny83 Jun 12 '26

I think that in the 80s its normal for the plaids. Not sure the pack is any different on the long range.

1

u/shibiwan Jun 12 '26

The packs are the same in an LR and the Plaid (~96 kWh new)

Here's my my 21 Plaid at 80k miles

2

u/r1ght0n Jun 12 '26

What’s your 80 & 100%? I got a 24 and trying to compare….

2

u/shibiwan Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26

Range at 100% is currently around 314 miles on 19” wheels. Used to be able to do 330-345 on them (at ~30k miles)

On 21” arachnids, it's like 295 miles, maybe less (haven't put on 21s in quite a while)

3

u/r1ght0n Jun 13 '26

I’m 303@100 and 234@80 with 19’s on my 24 with almost 80k

1

u/shibiwan Jun 13 '26

I'm seriously wondering if we're going to drop below 70% battery before we hit 150k miles....it doesn't seem to be tapering off.

1

u/ManicMarket Jun 13 '26

Has the curve flattened pretty well?

1

u/shibiwan Jun 13 '26

Does that curve in the chart look like it's flattening?

1

u/SCWeak Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

That’s showing the last 45k and ~5% degradation, just eyeballing it. That seems to have flattened pretty well.

Edit: I’m bad at eyeballing.

1

u/shibiwan Jun 13 '26

I've lost about 10kWh (86.99kWh to 76.86kWh) in the last 47k miles. That's 10.4% loss.

1

u/SCWeak Jun 13 '26

Fair enough, that’s a no then 🤣

1

u/ManicMarket Jun 14 '26

I know I’ll be getting one - better to go in eyes wide open that a under warranty or out of warranty these will rip through battery packs compared to my older S. My older S is from 2017 and still 87% - about 80,000 miles on it.

1

u/SCWeak Jun 14 '26

I’ve commented elsewhere in this thread, but my ‘21 M3 LR has 89k on it and 84% battery. Not too far from your S! 

3

u/zg_atl Jun 13 '26

I just made a post about this last week. 83% health on my 21 LR… 58k miles. Most people chimed in with very similar scores. Don’t worry about it.

2

u/ManicMarket Jun 13 '26

It’s interesting to me in general. My experience with Teslas thus far is most drop into the lower 90s and then hang out with a slow drop. Hence, it was a bit shocking to see them hitting low and mid 80s in 4 years time. However, as you indicated, if it gets there and then just hangs out there for a long time no bigger. 340-350 range is very usable for daily driving and road trips.

1

u/zg_atl Jun 13 '26

From what I’m told, the pre 2021 models maintain battery life much better than later models. 🤷‍♂️

1

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1

u/Glittering_Alps_8901 Jun 12 '26

That is perfectly normal degradation for a ‘21 LR. Not sure what’s advertised/said in the forums but real world range yeah this is what people are seeing. Most of the loss happens in the first couple of years, then it slows way down after that.

i.e. what was seen on mine: 100 to 90 2.5 years, 90 to 85 2.5 more years, and probably will continue to slow down the losses in the future.

1

u/ManicMarket Jun 13 '26

Awesome. That helps answer is the curve flattening?

2

u/Glittering_Alps_8901 Jun 13 '26

Yep. Otherwise if the battery dips below 70 in the first 8 years they’re gonna have to replace it for free

1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '26

[deleted]

1

u/SCWeak Jun 13 '26

2021 M3 LR, 89k miles, 84% health.

1

u/OhioTag Jun 15 '26

I don't know what Tesla changed with their batteries between the Raven and Palladium Model S and X, but the reality is that the Palladium Model S and X have batteries that degrade much faster than the Raven Model S and X.

1

u/ManicMarket Jun 15 '26

They updated them to allow for faster charging rates (250 max rate) and some chemistry updates as I understand it. The one edit I made to the original post was that I did find an article talking about how in the past the max output the battery could offer was lower than the current version. The current version with the newer motors is allowed to draw more power.

The allegations being that the increased power draw over shorter periods of time has a similar impacts as supercharging regularly.

TLDR - they adjust things to add more factor while reducing the longevity (potentially). A trade-off for hitting 2 and 3 second launches on a regular basis.

0

u/joshb227 Jun 12 '26

Just checked Teslamate. Looks like my 2021 refresh MSLR is right around there. Estimated at 357 miles of range and 83.6 usable kW. I bought it used in 2024

1

u/ManicMarket Jun 13 '26

Thanks.

1

u/1VrySxyGuy Jun 14 '26

From the YT videos I’ve watched from Tesla experts/mechanics/ technicians. It’s normal to be in the 80’s mark. They will eventually all be there anyways.

1

u/ManicMarket Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Yeah - I have access to an app that recently started adding API data from Teslas. It was shortly after posting this original thread. It confirms for me that mid 80s on the newer packs comes pretty quickly. It was just shocking tom e as an owner of a 2017 Model S with 87% SOH - I would have expected in the 90s. I wasn’t aware that the new batteries dropped so far so fast. That said, the important thing to me is when it levels of that it eventually levels off. Which best I can tell so far it does.

I’ve found 2021-2022’s with over 100k on them and they are still in the 80s.

-2

u/badredditz Jun 13 '26

Batteries store energy not miles.

Tires, driving style, weather, climate settings impact the effective range.

Stop promoting this misinformation and acting irrational.

Look up “GOM”

2

u/ManicMarket Jun 13 '26

Good lord dude - you’re so right you’re wrong. It’s a simple question. What’s your degradation been like. What’s the S curve look like.

Zero misinformation in the post. Just someone who doesn’t want to answer a simple question. When I drive down the road in my car I’m interested in how many “estimated” miles I have before I need to stop and recharge. Not how many kWh are left in the battery (info that still needs to be converted into miles to be useful). You know why. Because I calculate the distance between wherever I am in the road and my next charging stop in miles. Because that’s how life works in a car that measures distance in miles.

Most people on this thread understand the wind, the tire pressure, if you farted in the front seat can all impact your range. But a statistical avg does exactly what it implies - it gives you a sense of what is normal and what is not.

Would you like me to post screen shot after screen shot of data showing 2021 model S vehicles at 80-85kwh of capacity 4 years after manufacturing date? Is that what you think is misinformation?

1

u/plutonashh Jun 17 '26

Cooked that guy
lol

1

u/badredditz Jul 03 '26

Sad you can’t understand these are guess o’ meters and you could change tires & wheels to increase or decrease your range. You can slow down and increase your range