Tesla halves industry-leading warranty

TESLA Motors no longer has the longest new-vehicle warranty in Australia, with the electric vehicle (EV) specialist halving its peace-of-mind agreement to four years or 80,000km, whichever comes first.

Any Model 3 mid-size sedan, Model X large SUV or Model S large sedan delivered from February 1 this year comes with the new warranty, which is actually old as the same term was offered prior to March 30, 2018, when the then-new eight-year/160,000km period came into effect.

As such, Tesla Motors’ industry-leading warranty was only on offer for 10 months, but its halved term is still a standard setter in the premium segments its models compete it.

Volume-selling rivals like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi still offer three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranties, while Lexus and Infiniti go a step further with their more comparable four-year/100,000km periods.

Nonetheless, Kia is once again the outright warranty leader in Australia alongside Haval, SsangYong and Ferrari, all of which offer seven-year/unlimited-kilometre terms.

For reference, the top-10 automotive brands in Australia all offer five-year warranties, with Nissan the most recent one to enter the fray, doing so in April this year.

Despite the overall change, Telsa Motors still covers the batteries and drive units of its vehicles for eight years, although the kilometre limit varies from model to model.

While the Model X and Model S typically have no kilometre limit on their batteries and drive units, there is one exception: The original 60kWh variants manufactured prior to 2015, which are limited to 200,000km.

Meanwhile, the Standard Range Plus and Performance versions of the Model 3 that began deliveries this month have a 160,000km limit, while the Long Range variant is instead covered for 192,000km.

Unlike the Model X and Model S, Tesla Motors guarantees that the Model 3’s battery will retain at least 70 per cent of its usable capacity during its warranty term, regardless of variant.

The balance of Tesla Motor’s aforementioned warranties is transferable to a third party in the event of a used-vehicle sale.

Tesla Motor’s recommended service intervals for its models are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first. If an owner does not follow this advice, it will not impact their vehicle’s warranty.

That said, if a service alert is not responded to promptly and further damage is caused to the vehicle, Telsa Motors may not honour the warranty.