Why are you specifically wondering about th motor oil? Do you think that getting some to admit teslas don't need oil changes will some how prove that the power windows won't fail; rocks will never crack the windshield; one headlight won't mysteriously stop working after 6 months; tires won't lose tread etc.

Because that's the actual maintainance cost of a car. Modulo nobody's engines need replacing in 10 years. Oil changes are 30 bucks once a year at a Walmart/jiffy lube.

The post that kicked this particular thread off even said as much but everyone seems more interested in arguing about the possible cost of the worst case than considering the actual costs of the probable cases: all the little shit.

Because I saw the statement that "electric motors need oil changes too" and I wondered what exactly that meant. Please don't assume that every single person in a discussion must have some kind of ulterior motive. I'm not trying to prove anything about the overall maintenance cost of a Tesla. I just want to know what kind of "oil changes" its motor needs and how that fits in with the official maintenance schedule, because I like to know things and that one piqued my curiosity.

What's your theory on how they lubricate the spinning parts?

I think it's just sealed bearings. The tesla motor is essentially the same as the spindle in a CNC, and those do not require lubrication but do need bearing replacement.

I'm sure it involves some sort of oil or grease or something of that nature.

But that alone doesn't tell me much. There's a pretty wide gulf between a gas motor that needs regular preventive lubricant changes every few thousand miles and other parts, e.g. wheel bearings, that are sealed and lubricated for the life of the part and can be expected to last a couple hundred thousand miles.

"Electric motors need oil changes too" implies something closer to the former than the latter.