One thing people don't talk about much when it comes to Tesla is repair costs. Even the oldest Model S still isn't very old, and since the car is electric many owners haven't driven a ton of miles. But one Model S owner in Canada may be the proverbial canary in the coal mine when it comes to future maintenance costs. The owner took to the Tesla Motors Club forum to detail a brake job quoted at $8,5000. The EV was bought in December 2012 and has 64,000 miles on it. The car had been through two harsh winters and two warm ones.

It was dropped off at a Tesla service center after the brakes started feeling soft; a rattling sound was also coming from somewhere in back on the driver's side. After waiting three weeks for an appointment at the service center the bad news was handed down: all four brake pistons had seized. The repair checked in at $8,500. Here's the itemized repair bill: brake caliper assembly with piston (x3) $745, rear rotor (x2) $331, front rotor (x2) $290.00 and a parking brake caliper with pads $1,235. The upper control arm on the driver's side was also replaced for $261. Luckily one of the pistons was saved and the owner wasn't charged labor, so the total cost was "just" $5,824.75

Apparently the pistons can seize if the brakes aren't used enough, this neglect being caused by the regenerative braking system. Also the salt on the roads-the car is located somewhere near Toronto-can degrade the brakes further. Yes, the Model S is technically a luxury car but this is a steep bill to foot for something that's partially not the driver's fault (or at least not something a layman would think to watch out for). And the fact that you can't exactly shop around for a Tesla mechanic exacerbates the problem. Hopefully Elon Musk is thinking about how to keep his used cars running in addition to how to build new ones quickly.