How Sustainable is Tesla? (2024)

Tesla has been a leader in the electric vehicles space for years, but just how green is Tesla?

At LeafScore, our top concern is how our purchasing decisions impact climate change. That encompasses what we wear, how we cook, and what we drive. Surprise! We’re fond of electric vehicles. But even EVs vary in their sustainability. Here’s our updated deep dive into how sustainable Tesla is as a company.

Tesla EVs are more sustainable than ICE vehicles

Purely based on lifetime greenhouse gas emissions, a Tesla is more sustainable than a comparable ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle.

Yes, initial carbon emissions during manufacturing are higher for EVs than ICE vehicles, mainly because of the battery pack, but data suggests that an EV can reach parity with an ICE vehicle within just 6 months if powered by renewables alone.

Even if you charge your EV from the grid (assuming a mix of renewables and fossil fuels), it will reach parity within 1-5 years.

Tesla itself estimates a carbon ‘payback period’ of around three years, after which a Tesla’s lifetime emissions will be lower than a comparable ICE vehicle.

Notable from the 2023 Impact Report:

• Tesla’s overall GHG emissions rose from 2021 through 2023

But

• Emissions per vehicle manufactured went down 29% from 2021 to 2022
• Emissions per vehicle decreased another 10% from 2022 to 2023.

Most cars in the U.S. have a lifespan of 17 years. Driving a Tesla for this long will help you avoid about 51 tons of C02e, according to Tesla. This is a conservative estimate though, assuming no decrease in fuel efficiency for an ICE vehicle and no increase in renewables in the electrical grid.

It’s also likely that the CO2 emissions from manufacturing EVs will decrease over time, as processes become more efficient and more battery recycling occurs. Tesla is ahead of the game on this front, with robust recycling programs already in place and increasing efficiencies in battery technology.

Average Lifecycle Emissions of a Tesla

*Standard Range (RWD)

Tesla makes more sustainable batteries

There’s no avoiding the fact that EV battery production generates far more emissions than manufacturing an ICE vehicle. Around 40-50% of GHGs produced making an EV are due to the batteries.

Producing the battery for a Tesla generates between 5,291 and 35,273 pounds of CO2 emissions. That’s about three times higher than the emissions to manufacture a gas-powered car.

The good news for Tesla fans is that the company acknowledges this problem and has taken steps to reduce GHGs from battery production. One key strategy is using a dryelectrode process to manufacture battery cells. This reduces energy use by more than 70%, without compromising battery quality.

In fact, it’s highly unlikely you’ll need to replace a Tesla battery, which also makes Teslas more sustainable.

Longer battery life

Tesla has been making EVs for more than 10 years and its internal data shows very little battery degradation over time. Here’s how your Tesla battery is likely to look after 200,000 miles, which is the typical mileage at which a vehicle is scrapped in the U.S.:

In addition, since its introduction in 2012, the Model S range has increased by more than 50%. Tesla has achieved this without vastly increasing the battery size in its EVs.

Tesla’s transition to vegan leather

In response to ethical concerns raised by customers and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Tesla stopped using real leather in all of its cars in 2016 and now uses vegan leather.

Vegan leather has several advantages over animal leather. For instance, it is:

• Lighter (this is why airlines love it!)
• Stronger, more resilient, and more durable
• Potentially less toxic than animal leather
• Less carbon intensive than animal leather.

This might come as a surprise to many, given that animal leather is often marketed as a natural material. The truth is that, just like animal flesh, animal skin will rot unless it is treated with toxic chemicals for preservation. Those chemicals mean the leather won’t just biodegrade in landfill.

Some of the chemicals used in animal leather include:

• Biocides
• Surfactants
• Organic solvents
• Inorganic substances such as toxic chromium (III) salts.

Furthermore, animal agriculture is responsible for around 14% of global GHG emissions from human activity, with most of that coming from cattle farming.

Given that animal leather can be less durable than synthetic leather, the lifetime emissions and environmental impact is actually higher.

See also: The best vegan leather jackets

The downside of vegan leather is that, yes, it’s mostly made using petroleum products, including polyurethane, and can be a source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can harm human health and the environment. Tesla claims not to use VOCs in its leather, though, and if rumors are true, its supplier (Ultrafabrics) is much more sustainable than most synthetic leather producers.

Going forward, Tesla could make its EV interiors even more sustainable by sourcing vegan leather made from:

• Recycled materials
• Cork
• Bark
• Apple peel
• Pineapple
• Kombucha SCOBYs.

Following Tesla’s lead, other automakers now use vegan leather. For example, Volvo now uses Nordico in its vehicles. This textile comprises:

• Recycled PET bottles
• Bio-attributed material from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland
• Corks recycled from the wine industry.

Volvo also offers wool blend options using responsibly sourced wool.

Drag coefficients

The Model 3 and other Teslas are designed with efficiency in mind, so they are made to be highly aerodynamic to reduce drag. Things like in-set door handles and low-profile wheel wells ultimately make them more efficient.

Not only do the car’s design features make the car more aerodynamic, but it means higher efficiency overall. The battery in the Long-Range Model 3 is 80 kWh and provides a range of around 350 miles on a single charge—a mile-to-kWh ratio of 4.375. Compared to the industry standard of around 67 kWh and 212 miles—a mile-to-kWh ratio of 3.16—Tesla outclasses most EVs in efficiency.

One other area in which Tesla shines for sustainability is in the drag coefficients for its EVs. That basically means how aerodynamic a vehicle is, which affects how much mileage you get per charge or tank of gas.

Here’s a quick comparison of Teslas and other vehicles.

Tesla claims its Model X has the lowest drag coefficient of any SUV, but data suggests the nio EC7 just beats it.

The new Lucid Gravity matches the Model X with a Cd of 0.24, but offers greater range (440 miles vs. 348) and a much more spacious and luxurious interior (while selling for about the same price: c$80k).

EV Charging

It’s easy to think that the electricity you pour into any EV to “refuel” it is more sustainable than pumping gas into an ICEV, and to some extent, you would be correct. However, it’s important to consider that, while charging an EV uses electricity, that power is often produced at plants by burning fossil fuels. It’s more efficient to burn coal and natural gas at a power plant than it is in your car, but it still generates emissions.

However, Tesla is different in this regard as it uses 100% renewable energy for its superchargers (since 2021).

If you want to charge your Tesla at home, you can skip the fossil fuels by:

• Installing solar panels
• Using a Powerwall or other battery backup
• Switching to a green energy provider.

Tesla is also aiming for 100% renewable energy to power its operations, with 140 MW of clean energy generation capacity expected by the end of 2024. This is through its own generation and power purchase agreements with green energy companies in the US and Europe.

By its own calculations, Tesla solar owners generated enough zero-emissions electricity in 2023 to power all Tesla locations more than three times over. That includes manufacturing right through to delivery and support services.

Making EVs more accessible

One of the things we look at when assessing a company’s sustainability is its overall ethos. At Tesla, the goal is clearly laid out:

“to displace fossil fuels by selling as many Tesla products as possible.”

Tesla

Tesla is also upfront about how to achieve this goal it needs to make its products accessible, i.e., more affordable.

To make an EV more affordable, Tesla has taken steps to reduce manufacturing costs. Impressively, it has lowered the cost to build a single vehicle by almost 50% since 2018. That’s largely due to:

1. The introduction of Model 3 and Model Y
2. New, more efficient factories.

Next, it plans to introduce new vehicle and manufacturing technologies to reduce manufacturing and retail costs even further.

As well as producing more, and cheaper, vehicles, Tesla is helping propel the EV industry as a whole. Its biggest move in this regard is allowing its competitors to use its charging connector design and Supercharger network in North America.

By sharing charge port technology and the charging network with other EV makers, Tesla is helping to overcome one of the biggest obstacles for consumers: worries about where and how to charge their EV.

Tesla battery recycling

Another area where Tesla excels in sustainability is in its approach to waste management and battery recycling. At Tesla:

1. No scrap batteries from production are sent to a landfill
2. 100% of battery manufacturing scrap is recycled
3. Tesla has an efficient post-consumer battery recycling program.

Tesla’s process allows it to reuse a large portion of end-of-life batteries to make new ones. Unlike in ICEV, which run on single-use fossil fuels, EV batteries contain nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium that can be recovered and reused.

And as more Teslas reach end of life, this process is scalable, allowing the company to reduce reliance on virgin resources.

In contrast, other EV manufacturers have no clear approach to battery recycling, nor transparency on what happens to scrap batteries during manufacturing.

Tesla excels at waste management

Making cars is a messy, wasteful process. Tesla has taken a lot of pains to turn that around.

1. At its Shanghai Gigafactory, for example, Tesla recycled 94% of total waste generated in 2023.
2. Overall, 90% of Tesla’s manufacturing waste was recycled in 2023.
3. At Gigafactory Texas, all battery manufacturing waste (from cell to battery pack) was recycled in 2023
4. Tesla reduced waste per vehicle by 6.3% from 2022 to 2023.

Tesla’s sustainability also benefits from its vertical integration. Because it handles so many of its processes in-house, it can recognize when inputs aren’t eco-friendly or healthy and can make changes. For example, it recently replaced toxic materials with a reusable compound at its Texas lithium refinery.

Tesla also earned a China National Green Factory Award for its Gigafactory Shanghai.

Furthermore, Tesla uses more iron-based cathodes for batteries, rather than relying entirely on nickel-based cathodes that contain cobalt. Even those nickel-based cathodes use less cobalt than those of competitors, and Tesla plans to switch to cobalt-free iron-based batteries, especially for its Powerwalls and Standard Range EVs going forward.

As for sourcing, Tesla has improved its transparency significantly, in large part thanks to blockchain technology and third-party audits. This all helps to ensure lithium, cobalt, nickel, etc., come from conflict-free regions, are mined under fair working conditions, and don’t involve child labor.

Other sustainability initiatives at Tesla

Tesla is really into life cycle analyses (LCAs), encouraging its suppliers to calculate carbon footprints and environmental impacts in a standardized way.

This isn’t just to scratch a nerdy sustainability itch; it helps inform supplier choices and nudges suppliers to make changes to reduce GHG footprints and pollution.

For instance, Tesla wants its suppliers to set decarbonization targets and move away from captive coal. The company is also looking to switch to lower-carbon processing options like High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL), instead of pyrometallurgical processes that use more energy.

In 2021 and 2022, Tesla was the first EV maker to disclose how it assesses carbon emissions in its battery supply chain. In 2023, the company began requiring suppliers to provide GHG reduction plans and progress updates. And it doesn’t just force suppliers to shoulder the burden, Tesla actively engages with these companies to develop realistic, meaningful targets and plans to get there.

Where possible, Tesla uses low-toxicity industrial reagents instead of sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide. This results in a byproduct usable in construction materials, instead of a hazardous acid that requires careful disposal.

Smart plant design, energy optimization, and heat integration has helped Tesla reduce plant heating load by more than 14 MegaWatts.

Your Tesla can help you breathe better

All Teslas come equipped with HEPA filters as a part of the air conditioning and heating systems. This can help protect you from pollution outside (and can also help with any lingering VOCs inside the car).

All models other than the Model 3 also have a sensationally-named “Bioweapon Defense Mode,” which steps up air scrubbing to the extreme.

The company made headlines when it tested this mode in a controlled environment with nearly 100x the pollution levels set by the EPA’s standards for “good” air quality. Not only did the car scrub the air inside the cab clean, but it also cleaned the air outside.

You wouldn’t drive around in this mode on a daily basis, but it does say something about the car’s filtration capabilities. This is especially important for EV owners in smog-filled cities.

Tesla saves water

It takes a lot of water to make a car, but Tesla continues to find ways to reduce how much water it uses. Year on year, Tesla reduced its total water usage per vehicle by:

• 15% from 2021 to 2022
• 2.4% from 2022 to 2023.

The company’s Gigafactory Texas won an Austin Water Excellence in pretreatment Award, and the company plans to capture at least 25% of roof runoff at its Texas location, for storage in a central underground system. This rainwater will then be used to cool manufacturing equipment, meaning Tesla won’t rely so much on using potable (drinking) water.

Tesla also plans to use condensate from air-conditioning and heating in its cooling towers, and estimates this could save 13.6 million gallons of water each year.

In essence, Tesla is looking to exclusively use rainwater and condensate to cool manufacturing equipment, rather than relying on city water. It already uses reclaimed water for landscape irrigation in Texas, and expansion of that system is underway, with expected savings of almost 150 million gallons of potable city water annually.

The Texas factory isn’t alone either. Tesla deliberately designed its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg to use very little water. The company has a contractual allowance of 1.4 million cubic meters of water per year at the site, but used just 0.45 million cubic meters in 2023.

As in Texas, Tesla is using novel approaches to minimize water usage in Germany. Here, it has an industrial water recovery and recycling plant onsite that recycles up to 100% of waste water.

Where Tesla can improve

Sustainability doesn’t just encompass materials and processes. A company’s social impact also matters.

Tesla clearly has its flaws, with a mercurial leader in Elon Musk who fires entire departments seemingly on a whim. This doesn’t make for great working conditions.

Similarly, there have been reports of racism at Tesla factories, with allegations currently under investigation.

This isn’t super surprising, given the makeup of the Tesla workforce:

As for gender diversity:

Not great, Tesla.

On the plus side, Tesla is actively engaging with NGOs, government and suppliers to look at establishing a no-go zone for mining to protect indigenous and human rights. So far, Tesla also appears to maintain a meaningful commitment to protecting the right of Indigenous People to grant or withhold Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Responsible sourcing

Despite all its claims to responsible sourcing, Tesla is not a member of the Responsible Steel Initiative. Many other EV makers have signed up, including:

• Hyundai
• Mercedes-Benz,
• Volvo.

Steel is a primary component of many EV systems, especially in the body, chassis and powertrain. Tesla also uses a lot of steel for its energy storage products. Some of the steel appears to be recycled, but not all of it, and Tesla isn’t transparent about where it gets its steel.

Tesla has improved its transparency in many areas though. For instance, in 2023 it added responsible sourcing due diligence to its internal Global Procurement Policy supplier selection guidelines. The guidelines now require the company to choose suppliers based on:

• CSR audit scores
• SAQ results
• Complaints submitted via Tesla’s Integrity Line
• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The company also raised the bar for suppliers to pass an audit in 2023. Now, suppliers have to pass with a score of at least 60%. Otherwise, they undergo another audit within the year and could face a closure audit.

Tesla isn’t shy of cutting ties with suppliers who don’t meet the company’s standards. It carried out 73 closure audits in 2023, for instance.

In 2024, Tesla also committed to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s (ASI) Performance Standard for its aluminum foundry in Lathrop, CA.

As of the first quarter of 2024, 92% of Cybertruck aluminum suppliers are ASI certified or working towards it. Overall, 80% of Tesla’s aluminum Tier 1 suppliers are in a similar position.

Final thoughts

Tesla started publishing its “Impact Report” in 2018. This is the company’s version of a formal Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, and we scrutinize it every year.

The report includes information on the sustainability of Tesla products, as well as its corporate governance, environmental and social impact.

Based on the most recent report (2023), Tesla shows strong commitments across many areas of sustainability.

In short, if you drive a Tesla, you’re already ahead in the sustainability game.

Make your Tesla even more sustainable by:

1. Installing solar panels or a solar roof
2. Installing a Powerwall or other battery storage for renewable energy
3. Switching to a green energy provider (where available)
4. Using features like regenerative braking to reduce how much you need to charge your EV.