Tesla has been aware of longstanding issues with its vehicles, such as collapsed suspensions and broken axles, but has shifted the blame onto drivers. There have even been cases where wheels have come off while driving on highways.
Tens of thousands of Tesla owners have experienced suspension or steering failures in their vehicles in recent years – even in vehicles that are virtually brand new. Newly obtained documents show how the company engineers internally referred to these incidents as “defects” and “failures” but were instructed to inform customers that the failures were not caused by defective components, but rather by the drivers mistreating their vehicles. This highlights the well-known approach of the electric vehicle manufacturer and its CEO Elon Musk in addressing customer complaints.
In July, Tesla formed a team to silence complaints about their car’s driving range. The company has been accused of providing inaccurate range numbers that do not match real-world conditions.
Tesla has consistently avoided taking responsibility for suspension and steering issues by blaming its customers and making them pay for repairs that were not covered under warranty.
But now the US regulator National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) seems to be catching up with Tesla and has order the recall over two million vehicles in the US earlier this month due to its Autopilot driver assistance feature being too prone to “driver misuse.”
Tesla is facing several part failure-related issues that cannot be resolved through a software update, unlike the previous Autopilot-related recall which was addressed remotely. In addition, the company often shifts the responsibility onto the driver when a brand-new vehicle’s suspension collapses while driving down the road.
Is it possible that all these incidents are simply mistakes made by Tesla drivers, or is Tesla trying to minimize repair costs?
A recent analysis of 30 car brands found that Tesla drivers have the highest accident rate out of all of them. Nevertheless, the brand has already suffered significant loss of trust.
Reference- Reuters, Inside EVs, Clean Technica, CNN, Car and Driver, Electrek, NHTSA website