Reuters: Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective

[Orayn]

Just a software update, guys! You know, for the suspension, axles, and steering.

Wheels falling off cars at speed. Suspensions collapsing on brand-new vehicles. Axles breaking under acceleration. Tens of thousands of customers told Tesla about a host of part failures on low-mileage cars. The automaker sought to blame drivers for vehicle 'abuse,' but Tesla documents show it had tracked the chronic 'flaws' and 'failures' for years.

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Shreyansh Jain was ecstatic in March when he picked up his first electric vehicle, a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y. He used a sizable chunk of family savings to buy it with cash.

"We were over the moon!" said Jain, an electronics engineer in Cambridge, England.

His exuberance came to a "grinding halt" one day later, with 115 miles on the odometer, Jain told Reuters. As he drove with his wife and three-year-old daughter, he suddenly lost steering control as he made a slow turn into their neighborhood. The vehicle's front-right suspension had collapsed, and parts of the car loudly scraped the road as it came to a stop.

"They were absolutely petrified," Jain said of his wife and daughter. "If we were on a 70-mile-per-hour highway, and this would have happened, that would have been catastrophic."

The complex repair required nearly 40 hours of labor to rebuild the suspension and replace the steering column, among other fixes, according to a detailed repair estimate. The cost: more than $14,000. Tesla refused to cover the repairs, blaming the accident on "prior" suspension damage.

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Also you'd better not wash your Tesla, they are not designed to withstand that kind of abuse.

Andrew Lundeen, of Santa Rosa, California, was driving his wife's 2018 Model 3 in August when he rode over a speed bump and lost power steering.

Lundeen said in an interview that a Tesla service manager told him that a power-steering connector had corroded. The manager said the likely cause was a car wash, which he described as a known problem.

Lundeen paid $4,400 to replace the steering rack and a wiring harness.

"This is the only car that I've ever heard of where a car wash can damage the wiring," Lundeen recalled telling the manager.

Lundeen said he was so shocked by the manager's frank explanation of Tesla's part failures that he wrote it down: "All I can tell you," the Tesla manager said, "is we're not a 100-year-old company like GM and Ford. We haven't worked all the bugs out yet.

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https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/

 

[WedgeX]

Blaming drivers for the failures of automotive engineers is a long, proud history of the US (and probably worldwide) auto industry.

 

[Wrexis]

The cost: more than $14,000. Tesla refused to cover the repairs, blaming the accident on "prior" suspension damage.

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I'm sorry but what the actual fuck? It's a new car?
Isn't there literally cameras and telemetry on board designed to determine when an accident like this would have happened?

EDIT: Ah okay. Not part of the EU anymore. Sorry UK.

 

[Volimar]

Good lord.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

 

[syphonblue]

Nobody should ever buy a Tesla

 

[kmfdmpig]

I mean who doesn't expect their car to partially implode after 115 miles?

 

[J.T]

Man, a Tesla was going to be my next car but everything I read makes me have serious doubt. I think this confirm I'm out. I'll look into other EV.

 

[nexus]

Cars are designed to be driven. If you're going rock crawling in your sedan sure, there's an issue. But just driving under any normal road circumstances shouldn't matter. It breaks fix it. If you make the car got 0-60 in 4 seconds it Better be able to handle that. This goes for any manufacturer. Especially with the price of new cars today.

 

[Booshka]

Elon is just like, "skill issue."

 

[julia crawford]

wash your car or steer your car 🤔 tough choices in this modern world

 

[Consequence]

Still working through this but shout outs to the journalists that wrote this.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

It's almost as if the cars are heaps of shit death traps, due to Elon's mandates for cutting corners, something all the "I own a Tesla but hate Musk" stans just keep failing to understand

 

[Rezzzz]

I think I'm sold on Tesla now

 

[boredandlazy]

I'm now a believer.

 

[Messofanego]

Is it just because they were the most popular EV at the time but really were badly made this whole time? These scandals keep on coming out.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

Is it just because they were the most popular EV at the time but really were badly made this whole time? These scandals keep on coming out.

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Tesla Model Y Owners Find Cooling System Cobbled Together With Home Depot-Grade Fake Wood

The world's most valuable automaker, ladies and gentlemen.

www.thedrive.com

Consumer Reports Still Ranks Tesla Reliability 27th Out Of 28

Even though Tesla dominates CR's owner satisfaction surveys, it fares very poorly when it comes to reliability and dependability.

insideevs.com

Tesla ranks dead last in latest auto quality survey

Tesla owners reported an average of 250 problems per 100 vehicles.

www.nbcnews.com

5 seconds of googling. They've been shit the whole time.

 

[Messofanego]

Wonder if this deters Metanoia Prime from purchasing a Tesla?

I finally drove a Tesla... and became a believer.

I'm an EV guy but don't have much love for Tesla's models. The Model 3 doesn't feel nimble enough for a sedan, and the Model Y is just a little too big for us. Taking away the parking sensors was a deal breaker too. I'm not a fan of Elon but I'd consider one of their cars if they made a smaller...

www.resetera.com

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Is it just because they were the most popular EV at the time but really were badly made this whole time? These scandals keep on coming out.

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"Scandal" is a bit loaded here. There's a long history of automakers trying to pass of problems onto the consumer.

It's just that given the fervor of Tesla for a near decade and their constant defenders this stuff is going to look worse. And really it is pretty bad looking that a CAR WASH can destroy a module.

 

[Consequence]

"Scandal" is a bit loaded here. There's a long history of automakers trying to pass of problems onto the consumer.

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I'd say that it's not good that they misrepresented the incident rate to the NHTSA, while having documented issues with the components. Pretty close to scandal territory there.

 

[TitlePending]

Tesla Model Y Owners Find Cooling System Cobbled Together With Home Depot-Grade Fake Wood

The world's most valuable automaker, ladies and gentlemen.

www.thedrive.com

Consumer Reports Still Ranks Tesla Reliability 27th Out Of 28

Even though Tesla dominates CR's owner satisfaction surveys, it fares very poorly when it comes to reliability and dependability.

insideevs.com

Tesla ranks dead last in latest auto quality survey

Tesla owners reported an average of 250 problems per 100 vehicles.

www.nbcnews.com

5 seconds of googling. They've been shit the whole time.

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I think people are unfortunately interpreting "Market leading" as "Must mean quality" because that's generally how one becomes market leader as opposed to first-mover advantage.

I'm personally going to hold off on buying an EV until reliability across the board improves because I don't want to stress about a $10K battery replacement or outright totaling of a car in the event of a fender bender.

Everyone who follows the industry know the build quality has been very suspect the whole time.

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Feels like Musk has managed to successfully distract consumers from quality concerns with their Supercharging network and Autopilot capabilities.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Is it just because they were the most popular EV at the time but really were badly made this whole time? These scandals keep on coming out.

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Everyone who follows the industry know the build quality has been very suspect the whole time.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

I think people are unfortunately interpreting "Market leading" as "Must mean quality" because that's generally how one becomes market leader as opposed to first-mover advantage.

I'm personally going to hold off on buying an EV until reliability across the board improves because I don't want to stress about a $10K battery replacement or outright totaling of a car in the event of a fender bender.

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Same here. I got my first car in March of 2019, a 2019 Subaru Legacy Sport. I lost a fight with a garage door and there's some light cosmetic damage but still runs like new, and I plan on driving it until it gives up the ghost… and by then I think general EV ecosystems (charging, etc) will be where it needs to be. I do plan on my next car to be an EV, but I'm staying far far away from the Musk… well… musk.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I'd say that it's not good that they misrepresented the incident rate to the NHTSA, while having documented issues with the components. Pretty close to scandal territory there.

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I took their comment to be specific to actual mechanical issues and not the lying side of it.

 

[construct]

u dont say

 

[Sobriquet]

I mean who doesn't expect their car to partially implode after 115 miles?

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Or lose a wheel at 60 mph?

 

[PurpleMoustache]

Or lose a wheel at 60 mph?

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[Addie]

I've never heard a single good thing about a Tesla's build quality, fit, or finish.

(The HUD screen that can detect other cars is nice.)

They're also really fucking annoying to even get inside because someone had the bright idea to not have handles on the door. I can't imagine how annoying they are to drive, if you've got the one that requires a touchscreen for all basic settings rather than physical dials.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't want an EV from an actual car-maker like Toyota.

 

[Greg NYC3]

Just a software update, guys! You know, for the suspension, axles, and steering.


Also you'd better not wash your Tesla, they are not designed to withstand that kind of abuse.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/

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Article is somehow even worse than I was expecting. Musk has always come across as a venture capitalist first, CEO second in interviews. Cost cutting at the expense of safety is par for the course.

 

[Crimson-Death]

It's almost as if the cars are heaps of shit death traps, due to Elon's mandates for cutting corners, something all the "I own a Tesla but hate Musk" stans just keep failing to understand

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All the car gurus I followed always pointed out all kinds of suspect things, then never mind some of the actual accounts from people driving those things. Yep, buy an EV from an actual carmaker.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joQl-3fsOpc

wash your car or steer your car 🤔 tough choices in this modern world

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I think I'm sold on Tesla now

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I'm now a believer.

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😂
By the way, do the SpaceX rockets still keep exploding midair after destroying the launch pads? All that taxpayer money subsidizing that moron.

 

[Everybody Lies]

At this point, I think it's totally acceptable to think that anything that comes from Musk or one of his companies is bullshit when it comes to product safety or the treatment of animals or damage to the environment from one of his rockets etc.

 

[Jisgsaw]

(The HUD screen that can detect other cars is nice.)

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? Tesla doesn't have any HUDs.

 

[falcondoc]

B-b-but its so fun to drive!

 

[Sobriquet]

B-b-but its so fun to drive!

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Best car I've ever owned.

Note: all of my cars have fallen apart in less than 24 hours.

 

[WedgeX]

"Scandal" is a bit loaded here. There's a long history of automakers trying to pass of problems onto the consumer.

It's just that given the fervor of Tesla for a near decade and their constant defenders this stuff is going to look worse. And really it is pretty bad looking that a CAR WASH can destroy a module.

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Ford did the exact same thing to Focus and Fiesta owners. That was definitely a scandal. Guess we'll see if a class action results.

 

[timshundo]

I'm now a believer.

 

[Hrodulf]

Nobody should ever buy a Tesla

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Back when the Model S first came out, I was interested, but it's just been continually downhill ever since.

Even before Musk became more public with how shitty he is, the actual quality of their vehicles has been questionable since day one.

Now that there is a lot more competition for them in the market compared to a decade ago, there's basically zero reason to even consider one unless you are some crazy Musk fan or something.

 

[Falchion]

Oof that's brutal. Feel bad for drivers being stuck with crazy high repairs on basically a new vehicle.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

garbage company is garbage, stop giving elon your money

 

[onpoint]

This is only going to get worse as the cars continue to age

 

[TheCuriousdabber]

Yeah I think this is clearly a situation where Tesla was in the right place at the right time which enabled them to become a market leader even though the build quality was crap.

Now that we are seeing more traditional automakers getting into the electric vehicle market Tesla's glaring issues stand out more than ever.

 

[Addie]

? Tesla doesn't have any HUDs.

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You're right. I meant the iPad-like console screen.

I've only ever been in one Tesla, and it was an Uber to the airport at 4:30am…

 

[suedester]

These threads are always interesting. When owners post it's nothing but praise. Makes you think.

 

[Masterz1337]

Aren't there lemon laws that protect consumers from this?

 

[NetMapel]

View: https://www.tiktok.com/@netflix/video/7310223626521840939?lang=en

 

[Mengy]

These threads are always interesting. When owners post it's nothing but praise. Makes you think.

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I saw this thread and almost made a post about how I've never had a single problem with my 2021 MY in two years and 30K+ miles, nor have I ever talked to any Tesla owners who've had anything more than minor quality issues, BUT, what's the point really? People won't believe me because I'm a Tesla investor, and I sure can't refute news articles with my limited first hand experience.

I'll just say my Tesla is the best car I've ever driven or owned and I'm extremely happy with it. I'll be the outlier in this thread. 😎

 

[Orayn]

These threads are always interesting. When owners post it's nothing but praise. Makes you think.

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I'm being paid by Big Oil and Big Woke to libel Mr. Musk and his perfect products.

 

[suedester]

I'm being paid by Big Oil and Big Woke to libel Mr. Musk and his perfect products.

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Everyone needs a side hustle.

 

[El Bombastico]

These threads are always interesting. When owners post it's nothing but praise. Makes you think.

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And of course they never DARE show up in any thread talking about Musk saying something racist/bigoted/stupid/fascist/all of the above.

 

[Pocky4Th3Win]

Aren't there lemon laws that protect consumers from this?

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Lemon Laws usually require it to be a warranty covered issue that is repeatable, not just a single occurrence. They are also not claiming its under warranty probably to avoid this as well.