Tim Stevens for Engadget:

While we haven’t been able to confirm all the “several” supposed cases of this happening, we did hear back from Tesla issuing a statement (after the break) that more or less affirms this could happen. Tesla uses a number of so-called “countermeasures” to prevent this, up to and including calling the owner should a battery pack trail dangerously low.

To recap, a Web site called theunderstatement reports that Tesla’s all-electric roadsters can incur very expensive, out of warranty repairs if their battery cells are completely discharged – expensive to the tune of $40,000 to replace. Tesla says its vehicles have countermeasures to protect against this from happening.

I think the old adage “out of sight, out of mind” comes into play. Tesla roadsters are, by and large, the playthings of very wealthy people who don’t use them every day – and at least in some cases, don’t use them for weeks or months at a time. Enough time that the batteries can completely discharge and then run them very expensive bills.

My takeaway: If you’re going to fork out $109,000 or more for one of these things, the least you can do is take care of it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Running a $40,000 bill just because you’re being careless with it tells me that you’re pretty stupid with your money and your toys, and you probably don’t deserve either.