Owning a Tesla is often portrayed as the ultimate life hack. Like having clean conscience, no gas, no oil changes, barely any maintenance. But as many electric car owners soon realize, not everything that’s green is golden.
Carmen Scuito, host of the YouTube channel Vegas Tesla Family, recently shared the unfiltered truth about living with his Tesla Model 3 for two years and 54,000 miles. Spoiler alert: there’s more to “zero emissions” than just plugging in.
The first myth to fall? “EVs need no maintenance”. Not exactly. There’s less to do, not nothing. Between tire rotations, cabin air filter replacements, and washer fluid refills, Scuito has already spent about $158. Tesla recommends rotating the tires every 6,250 miles and changing the cabin filter every two years, or sooner, if you don’t want your A/C to smell like, in his words, “a wet sock”.
Then comes the surprise nobody expects: some Model 3s ship without floor mats. Really. Owners end up buying their own rain mats, console organizers, tire inflators, and screen protectors. Not flashy upgrades, just survival gear. And about that “entertainment on wheels”? Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, and real-time traffic are locked behind a $10-per-month (or $100-per-year) paywall. Without it, your car’s infotainment system is about as lively as a monk’s retreat.
Insurance brings its own set of twists. In Nevada, Scuito pays under $100 a month through Tesla Insurance but says reaching a live person is harder than getting early access to the next FSD beta. In states where Tesla doesn’t offer coverage, premiums can actually exceed those of comparable gas cars.
But the biggest shock came from the registration fees. Scuito shelled out nearly $1,100 to register his Model 3 in Nevada, an expense that comes back every year, only slightly reduced. More and more states are introducing EV-specific taxes to make up for lost gas revenue, meaning electric drivers are quietly footing the bill for the “free” future of mobility. Sure, he’s still saving a fortune on fuel. But owning a Tesla isn’t a cheap vacation.
