Are Teslas any good?

[notorious]

That's great to know. My current strategy is identifying a car model which was built to last (perhaps by mistake ), buying that model in used condition with expired warranty and then driving the car forever (until I smash it or until petrol is finished on planet Earth). Keeping it in good condition of course

It seems when electric cars will start seriously replacing petrol cars that strategy should change.

[Goran]

I will wait to see how well the new two-motor drive train lasts.
In theory even with the rear-wheel-drive system the solution may be easy, but too expensive, more exotic material for the gears of the simple one speed reduction gearbox. Of course a even simpler fix would be the much tougher straight-cut gears which would be ultra noisy.

I believe the real future is to throw away another archaic component, the gearbox with its oily mechanical gears and metal-on metal friction. There is a new breed of asynchronous AC motors out there that use a variable number of phases, effectively variable gearing within the motor itself.
From a stop they can use a high number of phases to have much larger starting torque, at very high speed they can simulate only 3 phases to have high rpm efficiency.
Perhaps Tesla will move onto these in the future.

For me, the whole point of a electric drive system is to not have to rely on warranty, it should last well beyond the life of any internal combustion engine.

In Yugoslavia we still use electric locomotives from the 70s with one asynchronous AC motor per axle. I don't think these locos get much maintenance, and sure now and then some do break down, but its amazing that with minimal maintenance and no investment these drive systems have lasted over 40 years. In short that's what I expect from Tesla, and any other pure electric car. Of course the battery wont last that long, but the drive system must.

[Goran]

Tesla won't say but they are almost definitely using Borg Warner's eGearDrive transmission. On some forum someone suggested they are cast gears, but that could be hearsay.

Is this a good design?

http://articles.sae.org/7953/

http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/...t-now-has.html

A bit of history between Tesla and Borg Warner.

https://gigaom.com/2009/08/17/tesla-...sion-troubles/