Electric Cars Lose Range Every Day! My Tesla Model S 4 Year Battery Capacity Update

TL;DR

A 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid lost 13% battery capacity in under 60,000 miles, confirmed by both a full discharge test and Tesla's built-in health test.

Key Points

• 1.The Model S lost 13% capacity in under 4 years and 57,000 miles. Discharge testing from 100% to shutdown yielded only 86.3 kWh versus a 99 kWh usable baseline when new, confirming 87% energy retention.
• 2.Tesla's official battery health test matched the manual discharge result exactly. After charging to 10% and running the built-in service test, it returned 87% — validating the full-drain methodology as accurate.
• 3.The car now functions as a 200-mile highway vehicle despite being rated for 300+ miles. At 80–85 mph, the real-world range has dropped so severely the owner can barely complete a 200-mile round trip to Raleigh.
• 4.NCA cell chemistry in the Palladium Model S appears significantly worse for longevity than NCM cells. The owner's Model 3 (NCM 2170) lost only ~10–11% capacity at 100,000 miles, while this NCA Model S lost 13% at 57,000.
• 5.Calendar aging — the car simply sitting — is identified as the primary degradation driver. The Model S was stored at 25–50% SOC in a temperature-controlled garage, yet still degraded faster than the higher-mileage Model 3.
• 6.Storing a battery at high SOC in warm temperatures is the most damaging habit. High charge level combined with heat accelerates SEI layer growth, trapping lithium ions and permanently reducing usable capacity.
• 7.Tesla hides a 5–7 kWh buffer below the displayed 0%, which the discharge test revealed. The car continued driving ~5 kWh past zero before shutting off, meaning customers cannot access this range in normal use.
• 8.The owner plans a community Tesla battery health test data project. Tesla is one of the few brands with a user-runnable health test, so a spreadsheet collecting chemistry type, mileage, AC/DC charge ratio, and SOH results will be built.
• 9.Keeping batteries perpetually below 75% SOC prevents the BMS from balancing cells. The owner left the car at 80% for three days before testing to allow cell balancing; an imbalance of up to 240mV was found between the weakest and strongest brick at 0%.
• 10.The $140,000 purchase has depreciated to roughly $55,000–$65,000 in four years. Combined with 13% capacity loss despite careful storage habits, the owner is considering replacing it with a combustion car like a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.