New EV Depreciation and Used Tesla Bargains

[DonTom]

Merry Christmas Don.
However you have explained NOTHING in that link.
It simply takes us to a pro EV video with some nerd talking.

Merry Christmas 2 U 2.

I meant to say the "nerd" explained it there, not me.

I didn't need to explain anything; the "nerd" did it for me. Did you watch the video in full?

Was anything in the "nerd's" video untrue? Was any of it even a half-truth, IYO?

-Don- Douglas, AZ

 

[Derby6]

I watched it before—not going to again. Not worth my time to rewatch and fact check. Don’t care.
I did find it interesting this new article TheBar posted states “Only five percent of lithium-ion batteries are currently recycled”

That’s a far cry from what you quoted from an article almost 2 years ago. "Although the percentage of batteries recycled varies, companies in recent times often find recycling more than 95% of these batteries deposited by consumers. "

 

[DonTom]

That’s a far cry from what you quoted

Your link is not working for me.

But always check the dates on such articles. The percentage of EV batteries that get recycled was 0% several years ago, but has been increasing fast ever since.

For 2025, see here. Near 100% excpected in five years.

 

[Derby6]

Just Putin quote vice link.
So we are recycling 95% of a battery. But only recycling 5% of all batteries.

 

[TheBar]

Semantics. False statistics. The public is so easy to deceive.

If you do a deep dive the higher numbers DonTom shows are being called "recycled" but are more accurately being "repurposed" as lower demand battery storage like solar storage, etc.

Not the same as being "recycled" into their individual chemicals like lithium and cobalt which is extremely difficult to do.

So these repurposed batteries are no longer EV batteries. So they don't show up in EV statistics. This is laundering statistics like laundering money.

Here are 3 other current sources saying 5% are "recycled" in the US. The 2nd one mentions it was 5% in 2020 and is still 5% in 2025.

What Percentage Of EV Batteries Are Recycled? - Green Packs

What Percentage Of Electric Car Batteries Are Recycled? The Surprising Truth | CarsBibles

What Happens To Used EV Batteries (And Can They Be Recycled) - Sciencing

 

[DonTom]

"
Typical warranties for electric vehicle (EV) batteries are 8 to 10 years, meaning the average EV will need a complete battery replacement at least once in its working life. "

If that is the case, let's compare that to ICE vehicles, wording it the same way:

Typical warranties for a gas vehicle's engine and transmission are 5 to 6 years, meaning the average gas vehicle will need a complete engine and tranny replacement at least twice in its working life.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Back when my EV was novel I was invited to speak at EV forums at the local alternative energy fairs. Along with ride and drives I would do the EV was always a hit. My impression is these fairs had a large percentage of people that had misplaced perceptions of the impact of their mere existence. Wear sandals and hemp clothes and you were an elightened one. A 10 minute dialog with me only offered disillusionment, because what started out as accolades for having a 'green' car ended in a picture of relocated emissions, toxic processes and hazardous waste. Far too many people have no idea how things work outside of their personal space. So the idea that a car sitting in someone's driveway equates to football fields of scorched earth and a miserable existence to some number of nameless laborers may as well never happened. Inasmuch as DonTom has a myopic view of the EV world he is right about the impact everything man does. Until human activity reaches a point of a stationary stone, there is an impact. I don't believe people wantonly seek destruction of the environment but as long as there's ignorance and a revenue stream, bad things can happen. Along with that though is the notion that aberrations in nature self correct. Now, whether it ends up a transportation fad like EV's that goes away or the economic or a social collapse of society remains to be seen.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[DonTom]

are being called "recycled" but are more accurately being "repurposed" as lower demand battery storage like solar storage, etc.

As with most "recycling" of anything. Why should EVs be an exception?
"

• How US recycled stuff used?​

  In the United States, recycled materials are used in a variety of ways to create new products and services. Here are some key points on how recycled materials are utilized:
  • Energy Conservation: Recycling saves energy, as the process of recycling can be more efficient than producing new materials from scratch. For example, recycling 10 plastic bottles can save enough energy to power a laptop for over 25 hours.
    
    1

-Don- Douglas, AZ

 

[TheBar]

As with most "recycling" of anything. Why should EVs be an exception?
"

• How US recycled stuff used?​

  In the United States, recycled materials are used in a variety of ways to create new products and services. Here are some key points on how recycled materials are utilized:
  • Energy Conservation: Recycling saves energy, as the process of recycling can be more efficient than producing new materials from scratch. For example, recycling 10 plastic bottles can save enough energy to power a laptop for over 25 hours.

-Don- Diouglas, AZ

Plastic water bottles are not repurposed. If you don't understand the difference between repurposed and recycled I can't make it any simpler.

 

[TheBar]

Plastic water bottles are not repurposed. If you don't understand the difference between repurposed and recycled I can't make it any simpler.

Ok, I'll try one more time using water bottles as an example. People want plastic water bottles banned because 86 billion/year end up in landfills. Recycling is melting the plastic down to pellets and creating a different plastic product. (But less than 1/3 is)

Repurposed means 95% of the bottles are not melted down but are refilled with cola. Then when trashed the blame is shifted to cola instead of water. Water good, cola bad.

Same as discarded solar batteries being blamed for battery pollution and EV gets off scot free as if EV creates very little pollution. But it DOES.

 

[DonTom]

But it DOES.

Of course it does.

Just like anything else produced by man.

But nothing close to gas or diesel engine pollution, which is an undebatable fact.

-Don- Bisbee, AZ

 

[DonTom]

If you don't understand the difference between repurposed and recycled I can't make it any simpler.

You mean if the link knows the difference. IMO, humanity is hopeless case, and all we can do is help reduce problems a little.

There are NO solutions, only trade-offs, and some ideas are better than others.

If you can claim it's best to NOT "recycle" at all, you THEN would be making a good point.

-Don- Bisbee, AZ