Hansjorg von Gemmingen–Hornberg, known as the owner of the highest-mileage Tesla in the world, has recently reported crossing the 1,500,000-kilometer (932,056-mile) mark, posting a photo of the odometer for proof on his Twitter page.
The man and his Tesla Model S P85 hit the spotlight a bit over two years ago, when he reported having driven it for 1,000,000 kilometers (621,371 miles). Hansjorg continued driving the car despite numerous breakdowns and reached 1.2 million km (745k miles) in November 2020. He then announced an intention to make a million miles behind its steering wheel.
Hansjorg said he originally bought the car used with around 30,000 km (18,600 miles) on the odometer around seven years ago, adding that it served as a test drive vehicle prior to the sale.
Among the many issues he had to deal with were front suspension failure, battery cooling issues and broken pop-out door handles. He replaced shock absorbers and the central touchscreen at some point.
Around the 290,000 km (180,200 mile) mark, the traction battery failed. He handed it in for warranty repairs and received a replacement battery pack, which he had used for another 150,000 km (93,000 miles). After that, the service admitted the original unit was beyond repair and provided a new one free of charge. Whether that – third – battery unit is still functioning is unclear.
The electric motor also broke down – three times, to be precise. When the Model S had 680,000 km (422,532 miles) under its belt, it received its fourth motor, which proved more reliable than the rest and managed to put over 1,000,000 km on the odo. We do not know whether the car has had any motor replacements carried out since then.
Before he committed to traveling the world behind the wheel of a Model S, Hansjorg von Gemmingen–Hornberg used to drive a Tesla Roadster. Being the avid traveler he is, he put over 620,000 km (385,250 miles) on that one, too.