Tesla Model 3 clocks 160,000km

US Tesla Model 3 owner Arthur Driessen has passed nearly 161,000km (100,000 miles) during the past year.

He reserved the Long Range model on March 31, 2016 – the first day Tesla opened reservations, and got it two years later to the day,  Electrek reports.

First, he did a few road trips and clocked up 32,000km from his Los Angeles home, but his recent record of 160,934km makes him probably the  first person to break that barrier in a Model 3.

Driving throughout North America, Driessen has been documenting his experience on Twitter and his blog.

The Model 3 has done very well and the only repairs needed related to what Driessen says was “beating the car to death”.

Otherwise he says would only have needed his tyres serviced, averaging about 40,000km a set when rotated.

Driessen needed to have a control arm replaced after driving through a stream and was at the Bonneville Salt Flats during high winds which slammed his door, shattering part of the hinge.

Replacement costs were under US$500.

Asked how the battery pack is holding up, Driessen says he now gets a maximum range of 486-495km = about a 2.5% loss on the initial 498km when new, and he uses supercharging only.

Tesla did release a software update to increase the range of the Model 3 Long Range to 523km but Electrek says it didn’t affect all vehicles the same way.

Driessen says he’s only gone below 10% charge a few times, usually doesn’t charge more than 60% and has never left his car plugged in longer than it has been charging.

Comparing costs to a Honda Civic he drove prior, Driessen estimates he’s saved about US$7000 on fuel alone, with the saving on oil changes adding another US$1000.

He says the Model 3 is holding up “amazingly” and seems to back Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk’s claim the Model 3 is built to last as long as a commercial truck, with battery modules lasting 480,000km to 800,000km.