As I said…I’m not here to debate the pluses or minutes of Consumer Reports. Just was pointing out what I felt was an interesting article.
And Tesla’s aren’t immune from needing their brakes serviced either. Because of their regenerative brakes, the brake pads will last much longer than ICE vehicles, but they won’t last forever.
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I’d also add that, in the future, you will see state and local governments taxing EV’s more, when they see their gas tax revenue declining. Though admittedly, we may not see that in our lifetimes. 
Yep, that’s correct. Have you heard what the average time is before the brakes or brake pads need to be replaced? Given covid, my car doesn’t have a lot of miles on it , but assuming average (whatever that means) city/highway driving in an average terrain (not super hilly or super flat) I wonder when this might be an issue. Any idea, @sushiritto ?
My car has had some maintenance issues (12v replaced, window wouldn’t close except from the app and the switch needed to be replaced, glovebox kept popping open, etc) but fortunately it was all covered under warranty.
I’m not a member of any Tesla car forums, though I am for other car brands, but that’s where I’d head to in order to answer your question(s).
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In terms of wear, you should be able to go past 100k miles on a Tesla with typical mixed driving. A bigger potential problem is insufficient use. Using the brakes occasionally is important to removing rust buildup on the rotors that can eventually cause pitting. Owners of Mustang EVs, which are only a couple of years old, are already reporting having to replace their rotors for this reason.
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It’s already happened. Many states, including CA, charge more for annual registration for an EV than other passenger vehicle:
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Brake pad use is highly driver dependent. Regenerative braking in EVs or hybrids will reduce brake pad use, but a city driver who races to red lights and slams on the brakes will use brake pads faster than a highway driver in the same car.
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That’s going to depend on the type and quality of the material used in the production of the rotor(s). Again, I have no clue what is used on the Tesla, but I know some high end cars use ceramic, but there’s also aluminum, carbon, steel, etc.
You beat me to it. They already have it in VA for Electric, Hybrid, and also Fuel Efficient vehicles. But, you can participate in a mileage reduction program to help reduce the fee if you don’t drive a lot. My car only gets ~6K per year and is considered fuel efficient. But, you have to enroll in the program and put some contraption on your car that records the mileage. I figured I would save $10 and decided to pass.
My husband almost only uses the regenerative breaking on our EV. (I assume that is the automatic braking it does when you let off the accelerator?) Luckily for our brakes I’m teaching S24 to drive and he does a lot of last-second slamming on the brakes, so he should be making sure no rust collects on the rotors. 
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Not an EV or hybrid, but we had this issue with a car that gets driven about 5000 miles a year. Rotors had been replaced…and needed to be replaced…again!
Oh, absolutely, but once there are more and more EV’s on the road, and with the CA ban on new ICE vehicles in 2035, those existing EV fees and taxes will rise.
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Guess who will be complaining about poor fuel or electricity economy and poor brake pad and tire lifetime… plus higher insurance bills if the last-second slamming on brakes is misjudged, resulting in a crash.
It’s interesting. The article I had posted mentions “use tax” alternatives. For example, taxing on vehicle curb weight: I would assume gigantic pick-ups and SUVs cause much more wear and tear on road surfaces than other cars. Seems to me that they should pay for it at a greater rate, if so.
No worries about not using the brakes in a Tesla Plaid…
My state used to have a rebate for EV’s but that is long gone. Now we pay a few hundred dollars every time we renew our tags because we don’t pay the gas tax. Well, in 2022 the Governor waived the gas tax (and kept extending it so it was waived for the full year) but the EV owners still had to pay that $ }##%^ fee. Really wasn’t fair, but no one addressed it.
Teslas aren’t exactly “svelte”? 