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Roof blows off new Tesla Model Y
- ivraatiems 6y agoWell, it's sure a good thing Tesla has no PR department to respond to things like this anymore. It wouldn't be in the company's best interest to be able to explain how something like this happened, or anything.
- ctdonath 6y agoDoes a PR dept actually matter for this? If an explanation is warranted, just publish it on social media. I expect the corporate focus is more on "fix the problem" than "hey everyone, let's DiScUsS tHe PrObLeM"; Tesla doesn't want to draw attention to the problem, they want to fix the problem so it never happens again and nobody has reason to discuss it. Kinda like the "child slave labor" issue raised during the shareholder's meeting: Some people wanted to compel Tesla to address the problem ... minutes later Musk eliminated the problem by removing cobalt use.
- ivraatiems 6y ago> If an explanation is warranted, just publish it on social media. Who writes the explanation in a way that is convincing and clear to the public?
- TheSpiceIsLife 6y agoProbably not anyone who works in Public Relations.
- paxys 6y ago> Does a PR dept actually matter for this? If an explanation is warranted, just publish it on social media. You are literally describing a PR department
- ctdonath 6y agoDon’t need a department to handle an occasional tweet.
- taf2 6y agoDidn't think Tesla had dealerships - why does it say they picked it up from a dealership?
- pwinnski 6y agoOf course Tesla has dealerships. They just operate their own, rather than relying on third parties. Not all Teslas are ordered online.
- nickthegreek 6y agoThey do. We have one in Columbus, Ohio.
- johnward 6y agoThey don't. Tesla has stores that are company owned. Dealerships are a franchise system from what I understand.
- devthrowawy 6y agoNo one is going to say 'I just went to the Tesla store'.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 6y ago4 people over ten might still call them stores, though: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=Tesla%20store,Tesla%20dealership https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=T...
- Zanni 6y agoThe body of the article says they picked the car up from a Tesla service center (which is accurate--you can order your car from a showroom, but you pick it up at the service center). The only reference to a "dealership" is in the photo caption, which was likely written by someone else who wasn't as familiar with Tesla.
- new_realist 6y agoMost notable production problems documented here: https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-y-ev-safety-quality-issues-problems/ https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-y-ev-safety-qual...
- new_realist 6y agoSee also: https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-owners-true-stories/ https://insideevs.com/news/447593/tesla-suspension-issues-ow...
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoTesla is an immature car maker. They might have great designs but they haven't matured their processes. They haven't spent years fine tuning their QA processes so these things slip through. One off type stuff like this and designs that are generally less manufacturing optimized designs coming from them are not surprising. I don't see why all the fanboys get their panties in a knot when people point this out. To everyone who actually knows anything about cars or manufacturing it's kind of a nothing-burger that everyone expects will slowly go away with time.
- logicOnly 6y agoI'd hardly call it a "great design". From a specification point of view Tesla is below Kia on everything from exteriors to interiors. It's a low cost design, not a great design.
- agumonkey 6y agoare you referring to jd powers ranking https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20200624005175/en/800694/5/2020070a.jpg?download=1 https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20200624005175/en/800694/... ? I'm not a car guy and never even touched a tesla so I'm curious what's bad in them.
- logicOnly 6y agoWow that chart is telling. But I designed interior parts, so it's my own Engineering take. Tesla's were not competitive at all. The gaps between panels were so bad, you could stick your finger in it. That's not just an appearance issue, kids and adults will mess around with large gaps and put stuff inside. And features in the interior were non existent. (Especially for a luxury car)
- agumonkey 6y agoAlmost funny how they manage to sell tech and a bit of style as luxury :) I guess meaning is relative so 2020 luxury means curves, a tablet and skateboard battery pack.
- gvhst 6y agoWhile TSLA does seem to have a history of these issues I wonder how bad the problems are relative to other car makers who have had to make a large number of recalls over the years. I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla still has a higher defect rate, but I think it would be much closer than these articles will have you believe. In general, anything Tesla related gets more coverage than an equivalent issue for any other car maker. I remember a few years back when Autopilot accidents would make national news while any other generic car wreck doesn't cause anyone to think twice.
- logicOnly 6y agoSafety issues are recalled, so you would see them regardless. Since Tesla has less than 1 million cars built IIRC, it's actually much worse of a problem. Other automakers have hundreds of millions of cars on the road with different designs, each with potential problems. Yet something safety critical like a roof falling off happens rarely, but get recalled. Has there been any Tesla recalls?
- KingOfCoders 6y ago10.97M cars 2019 VW for example.
- bsagdiyev 6y agoI’m not seeing this VW recall. Are you referring to Takata airbags? That’s an old recall but a really bad one, caused by Takata not the car manufacturers. The ECM getting updated for emissions reasons? I just took my car in for that one during my regular service, it’s a service bulletin not a recall.
- jws 6y agoThe car makers knew the liabilities of using ammonium nitrate as an airbag propellant. It was just cheaper. It's not like Takata swapped from a stable propellant to one which could be stable if everything was done just right on their own without telling anyone.
- hirundo 6y agoLoving all of the headlines about the new Tesla convertible. "Unexpected Convertible" - science.times.com "Tesla Accidentally Produces Model Y Convertible" - thedetroitbureau.com "Tesla convertible?" -- fr24news.com "Tesla Model Y Turns Convertible" -- carbuzz.com "Tesla Model Y convertible anyone?" -- auto.hindustantimes.com
- carabiner 6y agoFavorite, from Telepath: "Tesla receives free, over-the-air convertible update"
- logicOnly 6y agoYou don't buy a Tesla for reliability. You buy one to show your friends. No other automaker gets this pass(except maybe Jeep vehicles). Anyway, as bad as Tesla quality is, customers getting new cars from new companies should have little expectation of quality. (Although Tesla made it's first car in 2006, at when do they stop getting such sympathy?)
- blakesterz 6y agoFunny you mentioned Jeep, I remembered reading the Consumer Reports review of the 2021 Wrangler, it was bad. It's by far the lowest rated vehicle there. Pretty much everything is terrible on that thing. Road Test, 36/100, Reliability 1/5, Predicted Owner Satisfaction... 4/5. I had to go back and double check that again, just to be sure. Apparently people love those Wranglers, no matter what.
- bitexploder 6y agoThey are very much a lifestyle vehicle. They offer an idea of "mobility" and "going anywhere", basically vehicular freedom to tackle any type of terrain, even if most people never will. Very American sentiments that resonate with Wrangler owners.
- gilrain 6y agoI think they also benefit from the fact that off road hobbyists really do use Wranglers. They just use ancient models which have been lovingly restored and modified over decades, but they're Wranglers. So then the more aspirational type want to emulate them, but they want it newer and shinier and with a warranty, so they wind up with the substandard SUV which is the new Wranglers. Exactly the same story with Land Rovers in the UK, incidentally.
- rpledge 6y agoThere really isn't a competitor to the Wrangler if you're into offroading. Sure pickup trucks compete but the size of a Wrangler + the massive aftermarket support make it hard to beat. The new Bronco might eat some of the market but time will tell.
- blakesterz 6y ago"In September, Business Insider reported that a Tesla owner found non-standard parts like plastic straps and faux wood, that looked like they were from "Home Depot," holding the cooling unit of their Mode Y in place. " I have no skin in the Tesla game. I'm not much of a car guy. But I just recently bought a new vehicle and I ruled out Tesla because of that story from last month. I was looking at cars when that story came out. I don't know if stories like flying roofs, and the wood and the other stuff only make the news because they're Tesla and maybe these things don't happen all that often, but that non-standard parts thing really made me steer clear of Tesla while shopping for cars last month. It seems like so many of these things just don't happen to other cars?
- sokoloff 6y agoTesla is an unconventional, scrappy company led by an unconventional, scrappy CEO. I'm not surprised that they do unconventional, scrappy things. I'd be totally comfortable with the wood load spreaders from last month's stories or the fact that some of the cars are built in tent factories. I don't think those issues are blockers. I do think they have a general need to improve their quality and fit/finish, but those are in some cases things that must come from experience and track record of mass production, but I think those are unrelated to scrappiness. (Disclaimer: I am short $TSLA on the basis of comparative valuation only, not because they are incapable. For that, I'm short $NKLA.)
- bonestamp2 6y ago> I am short $TSLA on the basis of comparative valuation only What are you comparing the valuation to? Other car companies? Revenue? I ask because when there are so many emotional investors in a stock like Tesla, I've found it hard to rationalize the price. For that reason, I'm nervous about going short or long for any length of time. That said, I've had a lot of success day trading the price action.
- sokoloff 6y agoI feel like there's a certain exuberance for the great things that Tesla (and SpaceX) have achieved. Much of that exuberance is well-justified by the delivery. It seems likely to me that continued excellence of execution is priced into the stock at these levels and that no company is that perfect, regardless of the size of the opportunity in front of them. I also find it somewhat telling that Tesla sold $5BB of $TSLA into the market in early Sept. That might suggest that they thought the near-term market conditions were as good as they were going to get for a while. This is (IMO) a wonderful company with an excessively premium market cap.
- klyrs 6y agoCould this be a result of forcing people back to work during a pandemic, and maintaining high output quotas while the global supply infrastructure was shitting itself? > On Monday, Walter Chien said that he spoke with a Tesla representative, who said that "everything was done correctly" when manufacturing the car. "To me, that was more concerning," Chien told Business Insider. That's a... no? Situation normal, carry on, everybody... concerning, indeed.
- jabroni_salad 6y agoQuestion to those in the know -- are these roof glass panels attached to the car in a similar way to windshields? I recall that when I had my windshield replaced, they told me that the glue would need a day to bond and not to slam the doors or the glass would just pop off. I feel like this could be an expected behavior for any extremely new car if that is the case.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoThe slowest cheapest windshield glue you can get takes like 6hr to cure in normal temps and a couple days at near freezing temps (don't ask how I know this). These aren't T34s that are driving off the line and to the front. It would certainly have been cured by the time the car made it to the customer. I'm betting their QA process didn't accurately catch and remediate all the cars moved down the line after the glue machine ran dry.
- mhh__ 6y agoSpeaking of windscreens, my chemistry teacher once told us that when he worked at an acid factory they would spew out enough gas to start attacking peoples cars, but to avoid the regulators they would just say "Go and talk to John [redacted]" and they bought everyone a new one no questions asked because it was cheaper than getting shut down.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- buran77 6y ago> he spoke with a Tesla representative, who said that "everything was done correctly" when manufacturing the car. Does this mean they expect a roof to fly off even when things are done "correctly"? What happens when they make the inevitable mistake? Normally I'd say this is a PR disaster but just like other companies which command blind, unwavering loyalty, Tesla can also afford such disasters knowing that opinions will stay the same no matter what. Whether you love them or hate them this will do nothing to change it. Tesla is a very emotional choice no matter which side of that choice you land on.
- drcongo 6y agoIsn't this kind of build quality standard with American cars though?
- bsagdiyev 6y agoNo. They don’t have their roof blow off, ever.
- ip26 6y agoRight- instead, some of them explode when involved in minor fender benders.
- bsagdiyev 6y agoSure if the Pinto was still made today, but it isn’t. The fact that Tesla is Pinto levels of bad 30+ years on from that incident is pathetic.
- bathtub365 6y agoDo you have a recent example of this?
- sleepybrett 6y agoNot american but approved and sold here, the sazuki samurai is a notable example of this kind of terrible design.
- teleforce 6y agoCheck out this video comparing the latest Toyota RAV4 Prime (Plugin Hybrid) and Tesla Model Y. The conclusion is that Toyota is a car manufacturing company learning to become a technology company, while Tesla is a technology company learning to become a car manufacturing company. The uneven alignment at the gap between the roof frames in Tesla Model Y (shown at 10:20) though is quite unsettling to behold. Both of the presenters agreed that similar misalignment will never had passed Toyota QA. [1]https://youtu.be/8kDQvycMpmg https://youtu.be/8kDQvycMpmg
- whoisjuan 6y agoThe first time I got into a Tesla S, the first thing I noticed was how unpolished were the finishes everywhere. You can see uneven gaps in the door panels, in the console, in the floor. There are many unfinished plastic pieces that seem to be cut rough and added like that to the car. Everything feels like it's made out of cheap plastic. Not even remotely close to the finishes of a German sedan, and inferior to the finishes of an everyday American Sedan like the Chevy Cruise. I'm sure that the car is structurally sound but it was mind boggling how cheap it felt. It was almost like the interior of super low-end model for emerging markets, but with a large touch screen in the middle.
- swiley 6y agoWhat could a technology company bring? Intentionally broken software? When I buy a coffee maker it has one job: make coffee. When I buy a car I want it to move me over the road. Sure there's software but it's a lot of embedded/DSP/controll stuff. Tesla can do a lot more of the value-add/infotainment crap but most people don't like that.
- fma 6y agoI watched the whole thing...wow that gap, how can that even come off the lot? It must be withing the Tesla tolerance level, which is scary. Also the back seat isn't roomier, the dad had his legs spread and said it's just as roomy...I think using a touch screen to move the vents would annoy me very quickly. My family car is a Honda Odyssey and it annoys me that the fan speed on the AC is via the touch screen.
- afwe 6y agoRedirects me to the local version of businessinsider and 404's. https://archive.is/GZtG6 https://archive.is/GZtG6
- yumraj 6y agoIt was the driver's fault. How and why, we'll find out after Elon figures out how to blame it on the driver. /sarcasm
- kelvin0 6y agoPanoramic sunroof, of course.
- DavidPP 6y agoI saw this post on Reddit 2 days ago : https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/j59ovh/so_teslas_quality_control_is_embarrassingly_bad/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/j59ovh/so_tesl... He was told to Tweet about it and that media would pick it up, sounds like it worked.
- solutron 6y agoLet's wait for the follow up post. The initial video is 3 seconds long, and the photo looks like it was taken on a blackberry. I'm not saying this is a FUD scam, but it smells like a FUD scam. Business Insider hasn't always been neutral or reasonable when it comes to Tesla coverage too.
- pmcollins 6y agoTrue, and BI is part owned by Elon’s arch rival Jeff Bezos.
- NoodleIncident 6y agoMuch higher in the comments, you can see the original reddit thread linked with the same pictures. Not everyone records their life in the highest quality all the time
- pengaru 6y agoWas autopilot engaged?
- lordleft 6y agoSadly, there's a cadre of devoted Tesla cultists who routinely underplay these build issues and even insinuate that early adopters should endure them for the sake of the brand. I really want a Model Y, but these quality issues are massively concerning.
- thedrbrian 6y agoGenuine question. What makes the model Y desirable? To me it’s just a funny looking , awkwardly proportioned minivan with a weird interior. It’s not hyper aggressive like a German car or cheap and handsome like a Mazda. It’s just an egg with a load of seats.
- chc 6y agoMazda doesn't make any EVs at all.
- rad_gruchalski 6y agoThey do MX-30.
- chc 6y agoI just Googled it and...it doesn't appear to be out?
- rad_gruchalski 6y ago“First Edition from £27,495^ now available to pre-order. Deliveries starting early 2021” https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30/ https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30/ Not sure how much “out” does it have to be to be considered “out”.
- dm319 6y agoTesla have got EV infrastructure figured out. Here in the UK if you want to go for long journeys you need distributed high speed charging. Teslas are also efficient with the electricity and have decent range, while being pretty fast. Those are the plusses anyway...
- jeffreygoesto 6y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM
- erik_landerholm 6y agoThe corvette c6 z06 lost a bunch of roofs when it first came out circa 06, like a bunch. Didn’t really hurt the sales or the brand at all.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- diebeforei485 6y agoYeah, the first year of any new Tesla model is essentially a beta test. Most people won't have issues, but a few will. The nature of manufacturing is that 1-in-1000 problems only show up after a few thousand have been manufactured. I personally wouldn't buy a Model Y (or any new Tesla model) until the production line has been running for a year.
- danial 6y ago> His father, Walter Chien, a 63-year-old cardiologist, was riding in the back seat, trying to figure out the Tesla app, when he heard the blowing. He must have found the ejection feature, still in beta.
- mhh__ 6y agoThere was a French retiree who got a ride in a Rafale, quite recently, and pulled the ejection handle by accident. Luckily he survived. https://theaviationist.com/2020/04/09/report-released-on-french-rafale-passengers-accidental-ejection-reveals-both-human-and-technical-failures/ https://theaviationist.com/2020/04/09/report-released-on-fre...
- danial 6y agoWow, the pilot's seat didn't eject because it didn't work as it was supposed to, allowing him to safely land the plane.
- dmode 6y agoI have two Teslas - Model S (from 2016) and Model 3 (2018). I believe the following are all true: - Tesla's build quality is quite bad - I hate Elon now because of his nonsensical tweets and trying hard to stay cool and relevant - Tesla's false promises on Autopilot and Full Self Driving is a disgrace. They are at-least 20 years away from anything resembling close to L4, but still somehow siphon $8k from buyers with a false promise - Model 3 is the BEST car I have ever driven. It is awesome, and I would recommend anyone in a heartbeat
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- enraged_camel 6y agoHow can a car have "quite bad" build quality and yet be "the BEST car you have ever driven"? Have you not driven any other cars?
- kevmo 6y agoMy 98 Pontiac Bonneville drives better than a Model 3.
- fhe 6y agoJust curious: could you define better?
- ReverseCold 6y agoJust because it’s electric (feels really nice to drive), the range is good, and there’s a lot of storage space. Also, some other cars at the same price range have weird feature omissions like no rear seat-warmers or no automatic wipers, etc. But yes it’s clearly not as well put together as other cars. I don’t see how these are mutually exclusive.
- tobyhinloopen 6y agoWhat about a Volvo S60? I think the S60 is much nicer than a Model 3, and it’s similarly priced depending on what country you’re in
- narag 6y agoIf someone from businessinsider is around here: the site redirects me to .es version (instead of .com) where I get 404. Happens with both Firefox and Chrome.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- hnracer 6y agoAre the Tesla build issues that most drivers experience (not the driver in the OP) anything more than a cosmetic annoyance if the safety of the Tesla is superior to other carmakers?
- kureikain 6y agoI just got my model3 and I'm ver disappointed with Tesla quality as well. The whole thing feel like duck tap puts together. Minor scratch. Stuffs aren't align very well. My cheap crv looks much slicker in term of quality.
- animex 6y agoNot surprisingly, Tesla is at bottom of the list of all carmakers in Initial Quality. You can clearly see they prioritize shipping over quality. https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-initial-quality-study-iqs https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-initial...
- nickik 6y agoConsidering Mercedes and Audi are nearly as bad this is kind of encouraging for a company that started producing mass market cars in 2017.
- animex 6y agoI'd say it's fair to compare them once they had the traditional assembly line with the Model S. The number of parts in a combustion engine are far greater than an electric vehicle. Electric engines vary from 70-100 moving parts vs over 1000+ for performance combustion engines. They really should be measured on their own scale but further highlights how truly horrible Tesla's record is. I wonder how many of the defects are software issues.
- it 6y agoI bought a model 3 about a week ago. This is a fantastic car, best I’ve ever owned. No problems yet. My favorite things about it: great acceleration at all speeds, charges to 80% in usually about 30m, cruise control that keeps a safe distance from cars ahead.
- speedgoose 6y agoCongratulations for your new car.
- dan-jackson 6y agoshould you buy a tesla? what are the best alternatives? take this quiz to get personalized vehicle recommendations based on your unique situation and actual owner ratings: https://driverbase.com/recommendation/step1 https://driverbase.com/recommendation/step1 it is a free car comparison tool - no email or account required to get your results.
- dsimms 6y agoElon Musk, to customer: I'm sorry for your experience also Elon Musk, to product management: why don't we have a targa option? that looks amazing
- camhenlin 6y agoBack in 2007 I had an acquaintance with a new 2007 Z06, who had the carbon fiber roof skin come unglued and fly off on the interstate. Seems like this is only news because it happened to a Tesla.
- vetthevettes 6y agoTo be fair, Corvettes are well-known to be "plastic cars". If you buy one, you expecy to get the cheapest, biggest engine possible, and you know that the only reason it has any bodywork at all is because of some pesky law. It sounds like you encountered a high-performance self-lightening model. They're very avant-garde in the racing divisions.
- lowbloodsugar 6y agoYou're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!
- saisundar 6y agoPre ordered a model Y RWD around 15 months back. Have received two calls from sales reps to move or upgrade my order to Model Y AWD, and take the delivery ASAP. Held off on both occasions due to these quality reasons. The Tesla cars seem like an IOS update ( what they used t be) - better to sit back and wait to see what breaks, before doing it.
- egypturnash 6y agoI sure do wanna fly to Mars in a ship built for this man now!
- ChuckMcM 6y agoClearly it was defective, neither ejection seat apparently fired. :-) That is kind of a scary story, I would love to see a post mortem but that doesn't seem to be a Tesla thing.
- pfortuny 6y agoLink is giving me a 404 from Spain (07:00 CET).
- jasonmp85 6y agoI’m sorry but this is hilarious.