Electric auto mechanic Jason Hughes vents on behalf of his client. On Twitter he writes: "Tesla sometimes drives me crazy." The reason for this is a Tesla Model S, built in 2013. Years ago, Hughes writes, Tesla installed a larger model when changing the battery - and did not limit it. The car, a Model S 60, became an actually more expensive S 90D.
Actually a win-win situation. Apparently Tesla had a solution for missing parts (or a good excuse for being wrong) and the customer got a better car at no extra cost. Years - and two owners later - a rude awakening followed.
After the car was in the workshop for other work, Tesla must have noticed that the battery was not limited. Because a little later, after leaving the workshop, Tesla called the customer and informed him that there had been an error in the vehicle configuration, which had now been corrected. Much to the chagrin of the owner, because that meant translated: Around 130 kilometers less range, although nothing had changed in the battery. Tesla limited the battery by software.
When asked by the customer if they could please reverse that, Tesla responded with a $4,500 payment request, Hughes writes. In order to avoid this - and because he lacked any understanding for it - the driver asked the freelance Tesla mechanic Hughes for help. Lo and behold: the old range could be restored. Unfortunately only for a short time, they say. Because as soon as the vehicle was back on the grid, the condition changed again for the worse.
Hughes published his anger on behalf of the customer. In his opinion, if better parts are used for a repair and not limited immediately, Tesla must live with the error and not "devalue" the vehicle years later. Hughes insists he is not writing this because he hates Tesla, but because he fears Tesla will be "derailed" by such actions.
After all: After just one day, Hughes reports again on Twitter: The car can access the entire battery again, the lock has been removed. It remains to be seen whether this was due to the great attention paid to this case in social media or the ongoing communication between the customer and the manufacturer. The fact is: Much trouble for nothing instead of a satisfied driver.
The limited battery case isn't the first anger Tesla has had to deal with online this week. Attentive readers of the manufacturer's product descriptions have noticed that Tesla limits the availability of the navigation system in new vehicles to eight years - after which Tesla will ask you to pay again. The company apparently introduced this change at the end of July – without giving much information about it.
