https://consumerrights.wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=OnyxllcConsumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]2026-04-29T05:39:46ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.44.0https://consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Tesla_blames_drivers_for_part_failures_it_admits_were_defective&diff=21109Tesla blames drivers for part failures it admits were defective2025-08-20T17:27:38Z<p>Onyxllc: Hyperlinked "X" (twitter)</p>
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{{IncidentCargo<br />
|Company=Tesla<br />
|StartDate=2023-12-20<br />
|EndDate=2024<br />
|Status=Resolved<br />
|Product=Tesla Model S, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model X, Tesla Model Y<br />
|ArticleType=Product<br />
|Type=Knowingly selling defective product<br />
|Description=Wheels falling off at speed and other safety incidents caused by defective parts where the blame and cost was placed on the consumer.<br />
}}<br />
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==Summary==<br />
A December 2023 Reuters investigation<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jin |first=Hyunjoo |last2=Krolicki |first2=Kevin |last3=Mannes |first3=Marie |last4=Stecklow |first4=Steve |date=2023-12-20 |title=Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-20 |website=Reuters {{!}} Breaking International News & Views}}</ref> 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 US regulators and service centres the failures were due to "vehicle misuse," despite the fact that internal documents show Tesla had been tracking these chronic flaws for years.<br />
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==Background==<br />
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==[Incident]==<br />
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===Tesla's response===<br />
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Eight days after the Reuters investigation was published, Tesla responded<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-28 |title=Addressing Misleading Claims |url=https://www.tesla.com/blog/addressing-misleading-claims |url-status=live |website=Electric Cars, Solar & Clean Energy {{!}} Tesla}}</ref> with a post on the platform [[X Corp|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 [https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/assets/tesla-musk-steering-suspension/20230329_120734-2-crop.jpg 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.<ref name=":0" />" Tesla also pointed out that as mentioned in the [https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-musk-steering-suspension 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.<br />
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Tesla reiterates their service is not incentivised 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 [https://autos.yahoo.com/tesla-named-cheapest-luxury-car-110000613.html?_guc_consent_skip=1704750723#:~:text=Tesla's%20average%20maintenance%20cost%20was,the%20Model%203%20in%20fourth 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.<br />
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==Lawsuit==<br />
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==Consumer response==<br />
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==References==<br />
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