Cars never benefit from being idle for long periods of time. Electric cars are no exception. After 6 months, even Tesla doesn't know what to do.
YouTuber Alex Kersten has done what no car owner should do: leave an electric car unattended for six months.
And although it was probably mostly for the camera's sake, there is no doubt that it has been a headache to get the car going again.
Not even Tesla actually knows what to do with a car that has been sitting idle for so long. The car was purchased for the YouTube channel AutoAlex, and it has previously been used as a taxi to and from an airport in England.
Therefore, the mileage is also quite high.
In fact, the car already has just under 700,000 kilometers on the clock. However, considering the kilometers, the Model S should still be in fairly reasonable condition.
But one thing is how the car looks. It's quite another to see how it feels after six months without power or kilometers on the road.
The car also turned out to be something of a nightmare to start.
The cables to the 'hood' were actually so stuck after six months in hibernation that a special tool (read: a screwdriver) was needed to even get to the 12-volt battery.
It didn't end there, though. Even though the 12-volt battery came to life, the car's infotainment screen, which controls almost everything in a Tesla, wouldn't work at all.
In fact, the screen was just black. The car had to be pushed to the nearest charging station. However, an overnight charge did not bring the large screen to life either.
Only after the 12-volt battery was disconnected – this time for a week – and reconnected, did the crucial computer inside come to life.