I am convinced people who believe "wear and tear" on electric cars is "negligible" have never owned a vehicle. I worked as a mechanic at a bunch of small mum and pop businesses. Other than oil changes and brake pads (which will be less of a concern with electrics) nothing changes. The bulk of work in shops like that is suspension and steering (bushings, shocks, hydraulics), running gear (wheel bearings, hubs), AC problems (pumps and clutches mainly) and failing electrical parts (bulbs, starter motors, coil packs, wiring gremlins).
Electric cars are heavy, so expect more suspension failures. Running gear doesn't really change. AC is identical but with electric motors (prone to failure). Electrics will be worse if anything.
Suspension failures are not particularly common, EVs aren't that much heavier, and maintenance can still be done. While EVs are somewhat heavier, there are plenty of crazy heavy ICE vehicles that work without issue.
Tire wear may increase, but a robotaxi can also optimize driving style to reduce it.
None of those costs matter, compared to ICE. EVs just have less things that can break, and even less things that result in EOL or catastrophic failure. The more miles a taxi runs for, the more money it makes. Even if costs increased, the profit would easily make up for it.
Only because we regularly service them by replacing bushings, CV joints and ball joints regularly. And shock absorber failures are still commonplace.
> EVs aren't that much heavier
They're much heavier. It's obviously hard to make a direct comparison because there's no such thing as "equivalent but with an ICE engine" but a Golf E weighs about 250kg more than a Golf GTI.
> there are plenty of crazy heavy ICE vehicles that work without issue
And they have heavier duty components which require more servicing and are more expensive to replace.
> None of those costs matter, compared to ICE.
Can you show me some evidence for this? I am not making the claim that EVs are more expensive to maintain than ICE cars, but you made the claim that wear and tear costs (aka maintenance costs) on EVs are "negligible". You will need to show some receipts for a claim like that.
There are undoubtedly other changes involved, but BMW makes an ICE and electric version of their current 3-series. The 330i is 3,582 lbs vs the electric 330e's 4,039 lbs. Roughly 10%'s difference; quite a bit heavier!
For an apples to oranges comparison, a Tesla Model 3 is 3,648 to 4,250 lbs; a Honda Accord is 3,150 to 3,430 lbs. Totally difference cars, but same-ish external size class. Those battery packs are heavy!
330e is PVEV, not BEV. We're talking for battery's weight so not good example. Tesla 3 is relatively lightweight compared to other BEVs. I wonder what's the difference.
Electric cars are heavy, so expect more suspension failures. Running gear doesn't really change. AC is identical but with electric motors (prone to failure). Electrics will be worse if anything.