Tesla has been blaming customers for component failures for years even though the company knew the parts were defective, a new investigative report shows.The report states that thousands of Tesla owners have experienced premature failure of suspension or steering components, with many customers having to foot the bill.
After reviewing thousands of Tesla documents, the report found that the problem of premature parts failure has plagued Tesla for at least seven years. The issues span Tesla's entire model range and are widespread around the world.
The report details the experiences of more than 20 Tesla customers and interviews with several former Tesla managers and service technicians.
One of the most striking examples is that a car owner named Shreyansh Jain said that she bought a new 2023 Tesla Model Y earlier this year, and the car "stopped" after driving it for just one day. After only 115 miles of driving, the Model Y's right front suspension collapsed, causing the vehicle to stop in the middle of the road.
The repair bill totaled $14,000, and Tesla asked Jain to pay for the repairs because the company claimed the accident was caused by previous suspension damage.
The report noted that Tesla engineers referred to the problems internally as "bugs" and "failures," and suggested that Tesla was aware of the frequency and scope of the problems but failed to properly disclose them to customers and regulators.
Tesla is also trying to make customers bear the cost of repairs, even though the company has been tracking the issues for years. Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla sells directly to customers and owns and operates many service centers, giving it real-time visibility into component failures.
The report also stated that Tesla CEO Elon Musk often ignored safety issues related to customer complaints and instead promoted the launch and sales of new products while being aware of defective parts.
According to reports, Tesla received more than 400 complaints related to rear suspension link failures in China between 2016 and 2020. Records show Tesla redesigned the part four times to fix the problem.
Tesla had been trying to avoid recalling the vehicles until Chinese regulators publicized the issue. China's State Administration for Market Regulation noted that a rear suspension link failure put drivers at "risk of accidents." Tesla still has not recalled the vehicles in the U.S. or Europe, instead telling regulators that the glitches reported in China were caused by "driver abuse." The company has also instructed its service centers to blame "vehicle misuse" for similar component failures.
Investigations show that Tesla owners have submitted approximately 260 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this year related to steering and suspension issues. Teslas account for less than 1% of the cars on U.S. roads. By comparison, General Motors, with a 21% share, received 750 complaints this year, and Toyota, with a 15% share, received 230 complaints.