Quoted from toyotaboy:For gas cars, yes. So many sensors (which false diagnose), so many moving parts that can fail. It's my understanding that Tesla is effectively a brushless motor, controlled by a speed controller (like a hobby R/C car might have, just a ton more amps), paired up to a gearbox (single gear, no transmission because electric motors have huge amounts of torque), and there's a giant bank of batteries underneath. Yes there's a ton of other things like the cameras to sense the environment, other typical wear items like brakes and tires, but from a maintenance standpoint it's night and day. When the batteries go bad, typically they replace the entire bank, I'd imagine if the motor develops issues it would be the same thing (and get rebuilt in a factory much like alternators do now).
I work in an industry that is dominated by single stroke small gas engines, but we are slowly transitioning into electric. By comparison, electric is super simple.
Still has suspension... Still has joints... Still has everything in an interior.. still has wiring (and more of it)... still has HVAC.. still has a ton more sensors, measurements, etc. Sensors and controllers are subject to harsh environments and hence high risk for damage/failure.
Minus the powertrain.. it's much of the same. The key is engines required regular upkeep and had more consumable parts. You're taking that big piece out, but it's still a car everywhere else... plus way more gadgets.
