Tesla blames drivers for part failures it admits were defective

Tesla produced various automotive vehicles that were involved in several safety-related incidents. In some cases where design or manufacturing errors were involved, the company allegedly stated the owner of the vehicle was fully responsible. A December 2023 Reuters investigation reveals faulty parts in Tesla vehicles have caused incidents of wheels falling off at speed, axles breaking under acceleration, control arms failing and the suspension collapsing without evidence of direct impact. Tesla told U.S. regulators and service centers the failures were due to "vehicle misuse" despite the fact that internal documents show Tesla had been tracking these chronic flaws for years.

Background

Many Tesla models of consumer vehicles use the same or similar parts and components for necessary functionality, such as parts of the suspension sub-assembly and steering controls.^{[citation needed]} Therefore, any flaws in the design or manufacturing of Tesla vehicles that are repeated across products will increase the likelihood of accidents regardless of the model they use. Tesla models S, 3, X, and Y each have different suspension designs, and the Model 3 is the only of the four to strictly use a coil-spring suspension system as opposed to air suspension, but design features are consistent across models.^{[citation needed]} Tesla Model S vehicles were first delivered to consumers in June 2012, and some of these models continue to be sold. However, steering and suspension issues are most widely known in the other three models.

Incident

Tesla drivers lost control over their vehicles but were held fully responsible for accidents.

Shreyansh Jain purchased a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y and, less than 24 hours after purchase, lost steering control while turning at a low rate of speed with only 115 miles on the odometer. His wife and three-year-old child were passengers and according to Jain "were absolutely petrified". On top of the trauma caused by the accident, the Model Y sustained a collapse of the front-right suspension and superficial damage. Tesla stated that this was due to "the separation of a lower control arm from the steering knuckle, which the company blamed on 'prior' damage to the brand-new vehicle".A text communication between Jain and a Tesla representative "implied Tesla would pay for the repairs",, but Tesla sent a letter to him a week later stating that Tesla was not responsible because their inspection led them to believe there was "a prior external influenced damage to the front-right suspension." Tesla did not cover any of the over US$14,000 repairs because they believed the damage to the suspension happened earlier. However, Tesla had prior knowledge of the defect because Tesla documents referred to "tens of thousands of Tesla owners" that also had "experienced premature failures of suspension or steering parts" across multiple product lines and at least seven years of history with these incidents.

Some of the reported accidents occurred due to Tesla vehicles self-disassembling while in operation. One report by a Tesla technician over an April 2021 incident regarding a 2020 Tesla Model 3, having less than 15,000 miles on the odometer, contained the sentence "Front wheel fell off while driving on Autopilot at 60 mph".

Reuters previously investigated Tesla for their creation of a team to in July 2023 to suppress complaints over Tesla vehicle driving range,^{[citation needed]} which is an issue in electric vehicles where they have a limited distance before they must be recharged. Tesla, because they are direct vendors and have extensive records of failures and claims, therefore knew of this flaw.

Tesla's response

Eight days after the Reuters investigation was published, Tesla responded with a post on the platform X (formerly known as Twitter) criticizing the investigation and its "wildly misleading" headline. As a response to the specific incident of Shreyansh Jain’s 2023 Tesla Model Y, Tesla pointed out that the customer photo represents the component was involved in a crash, and says "Most, if not all, manufacturer warranties exclude damages caused by a crash because that is the point of insurance coverage." Tesla also pointed out that as mentioned in the original Reuters article, Tesla paid for most of 120,000 vehicles covered under warranty when upper control arm failures were discovered in the Model S and Model X.

Tesla reiterates their service is not incentivized to profit off repair needs, that it is often done using a convenient OTA (Over-the-Air) update process and mobile service to the customer's home or workplace, and Tesla quotes a maintenance study to conclude "The numbers don’t lie in terms of repeat sales and customer satisfaction," while claiming Reuters' journalism was "cherry-picking" for negative information.

Lawsuit

Some consumers of Tesla products may be eligible to take legal action against Tesla if their personal incident meets certain criteria. Following the Jain family's incident, public figures such as U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward John Markey called for a recall of the allegedly defective models, and they encouraged Tesla to communicate with the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) about these issues. Additionally, Norwegian and Swedish agencies are also investigating Tesla suspension failures, which may lead to further lawsuits or recalls.

Consumer response

Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.

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See also

• Tesla asks customers to vote against Right to Repair
• Tesla cybertruck voids warranty if advertised power your site feature is used