This Tesla owner bringing their car in for an oil change is definitive proof that we, as drivers, should get know, at least on a basic level, how cars work.

Mainstream Teslas like the Tesla Model S have been around now for more than seven years so you’d think that the collective zeitgest would include some basic understanding of how these gas-less wonders work. Such is not the case. As per Jiffy Lube manager and Reddit user RBernal2018 on his once in a lifetime customer encounter earlier today (Mar. 13,2019) he had a real deal customer come in with their Tesla legit asking for an oil change. Even when Bernal insisted that EVs don’t need an oil change, it was only after she saw the underside for herself did she take his word for it. Check out the humorous thread for yourself below.

I’ve been waiting for 3 years to see a Tesla come into my shop and ask for an oil change! Finally the day came from r/Justrolledintotheshop

To be fair, most car enthusiasts, myself included, can’t explain to a five-year-old exactly HOW an electric car runs. Off the top of my head I know that Teslas have one or two “three-phase four pole” induction motors, depending on the model, powered by electricity from a large tray of essentially laptop batteries running the underside of the EV. With a handful of moving parts in an induction motor, oil changes, in the traditional sense, are not needed with motor bearings supplied with their own packed grease that presumably lasts for the life of the motor.

As others in the comments section mention, this Tesla driver as, at the very least, aware that their Tesla needs SOME type of maintenance. According to Tesla that occasionally includes tire rotations, brake fluid replacements, and battery coolant top offs. But, draining and refilling quarts of oil plus a new oil filter? Not needed.

With the average motorist no longer so well versed in their own car’s workings perhaps its appropriate for electric cars to replace our smog belchers.

What do you think about this Jiffy Lube manager’s experience? Did you know Teslas don’t need oil changes? Let me know in the comments below!

Source: Reddit