Because I'm only considering "regular" maintenance that most people do every X miles or Y years. For a Tesla, the only "regular" maintenance is cabin filters, tire-related maintenance, brake fluid, an A/C. The 12V battery also needs replacement periodically.
I strictly use the word "maintenance" to refer to preventative care and replacement of consumables such as tires, filters, and washer fluid. Repairs of failed parts are something else.
If it costs money its adds to the total cost of ownership, whether its preventative maintenance or unscheduled break fix.
The only difference with preventative is its scheduled so you can organize the work to fit your schedule without much inconvenience.
At the end of the day you need to factor in the entire cost of the car over its lifespan and figure out at what distance the cost of ownership crosses over from ICE being cheaper to EV being cheaper.
This includes repairs, fuel/electricity, insurance, opportunity cost of not having the price difference to invest, etc.
- Consumer Reports [1]
[1] https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020...
Ignoring the fact they used "predicted five-year residual values" for their real word data, and the fact they compare a telsa model 3 to an BMW/Audi/Lexus rather than a Camry or something in the same actual class, the operational costs are nowhere near "half" in their own table, eg.
A telsa model 3 over "lifetime" is $49,800 whereas a Lexus is $63,200 - significantly less than $99,600.
Oh and thats skipping the insurance and charger costs too.
Its a biased piece of toilet paper.
