EV costs, or rather the cost of maintaining an electric vehicle, are not the same as the cost for maintaining a traditional gas-powered vehicle. It stands to reason that the Tesla Cybertruck cost and maintenance costs would be cheaper, as well. But by just how much? It’s difficult to put an exact number on the cost of ownership, including repairs, but if you crunch some numbers, you can get pretty close to a real estimate. Additionally, there are third-party statistics providers that have already gathered insights to help with the research.
As a rough estimate, it’s about $300 to $400 per month to maintain a Tesla Cybertruck. To see how that estimate was discovered, first, let’s consider what kind of maintenance is required with an EV like the Tesla Cybertruck. It’s a strange beast, since the upfront costs are fairly hefty. No one really got discounts either, even if early adopters were able to acquire Cybertrucks with about $88,000 in Tesla stock; they still had to pay full price, reservation or not.
According to Tesla, the brand’s EV models do not require traditional oil changes, fuel system maintenance, emissions checks or spark plug replacement intervals. Moreover, thanks to the regenerative braking technology, brake pad replacements shouldn’t be needed as frequently. That’s because the technology reduces normal wear and tear on the brakes by transferring excess energy back to the system batteries to charge them. Impressive? Yes. Although, knowing this, it begs the question, what maintenance do you actually have to administer?
You still have to replace or change the HEPA filter, which is $100 for the replacement part. You’ll also have to align, balance, and rotate the tires, conduct brake fluid tests, and manage the air conditioning system. You’ll also have to check windshield wipers, with a replacement at $75 MSRP per blade (though only one blade is needed), as well as administer high voltage battery maintenance including winter care.
You have to replace the tires when they wear down, too. The cost of new tires with the wheel covers included is about $500 per wheel, and a spare tire with the tool kit to replace that is over $1,200 on Tesla’s site. If the batteries fail and you need to replace those, estimates put the cost between $10,000 to $20,000, which is not insignificant. While the total costs are negligible compared to traditional gas-powered vehicles, they still exist, and as you can see, some are higher comparably. However, it’s still cheaper to pay to charge your EV than to fill a gas tank.
CarEdge estimates that a Tesla Cybertruck will cost $5,358 for maintenance and repairs during its first 10 years of service. That’s if no major repairs or failures occur — there’s a 21.63% chance of that happening. More importantly, it makes sense that repair costs would be cheaper in the earlier years since they would naturally accelerate as the car gets older, and more parts need care or replacement.
It’s about $1,986 to maintain or repair a Cybertruck during the first five years. That’s roughly $400 per year; realistically closer to $300 when you consider the necessary measures listed above. It is important to remember this, however. While it has plummeted in value since its release — by about 30 percent year over year — the Tesla Cybertruck still has a hefty upfront cost compared to traditional options.
So, you might be saving on some of those maintenance costs, but in total, there may not be much of a difference depending on what combustion engine vehicles you’re comparing it to. The average cost of a new Cybertruck is between $69,000 and $100,000. Recently used model years are closer to $116,000, according to CarGurus.