[jzoidberg]

The battery pack and associated circuitry is a array of solid state components.

An internal combustion engine has thousands of different parts - many of them moving, unmonitored and uncontrolled.

The EV is much simpler to manufacture and maintain. The GM EV1 was famously robust and low maintenance. Personally i believe this is one of the reasons the previous generation of EV's were canceled - it radically changes the profit spread on a vehicle. The old school manufacturers make a lot af profit on vehicle maintenance and parts - this is about to change.

The part count on a typical automobile is 30000 according to toyota - I would love to know what the Model S count is - even with the 6000 battery cells.

[r00fus]

> An internal combustion engine has thousands of different parts - many of them moving, unmonitored and uncontrolled.

And it's century-old tech... and millions of people know how it works at a very low level. Lots of the problems are known or solved.

[rbranson]

Often these problems are solved through complexity. ICEs have very limited ranges of torque efficiency, so we work around them using a complex transmission. Other complexity eliminated by an electric vehicle: induction & emissions systems, environmental controls, ECU/fuel control & associated sensor networks, NVH suppression, fuel storage & delivery, belt-driven accessories (inverter, A/C, power steering).

[ams6110]

Granted an electric motor is simpler and more durable than an internal combustion engine. The rest of the car, though, is still a car. It has a transmission, suspension, brakes, etc. all of which will need maintenance and repair like an ordinary car. And it remains to be seen how the battery packs will hold up over time, warranty notwithstanding.

[rbranson]

Transmission? There is no transmission -- electric motors have flat torque curves, so there's no need. It has a "gearbox," but it's basically just a differential. The transmission is one of the most expensive and arguably the most complex parts of an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. Ever priced one of these? It's around $4,000-$10,000 for a replacement -- manual or automatic.

[prolepunk]

Also brakes although present, won't be used as much due to car's motor regenerative breaking, so they will need a lot less maintenance.