Tesla’s top headlines of the year

By CRM staff

 

Toronto, Ontario — December 21, 2018 — Tesla has come out with a lot of promises this year making headlines almost every week  –  many of which could, if they come to pass, have a major impact on the way the collision repair industry operates. As 2018 winds down, Collision Repair shares the Tesla-related headlines that caught the industry’s attention most this year!

 

In January there were reports from nine former and current Tesla staff that over 90 percent of Model S sedans and Model X SUVs require repairs before even leaving the factory. The staff cited these numbers from Tesla’s internal tracking system in October 2017. 

 

According to a former supervisor, such defects seen in vehicles coming off the assembly line include: “doors not closing, material trim, missing parts, all kinds of stuff. Water leaks, you name it.” Another former supervisor commented, “We’ve been building a Model S since 2012. How do we still have water leaks?” 

 

Tesla owners have complained on web forums of rattling sounds, buggy software and poor seals that allow rainwater to enter the interior and trunk. 

 

The company went on to state that every Tesla vehicle must pass more than 500 inspections and tests, and that any reworking of cars reflects the company’s commitment to quality. “Our goal is to produce perfect cars for every customer,” Tesla said in a statement. 

 

 

 

In August, Tesla announced the landmark of producing more than 5,000 of its Model 3 cars. The self-imposed goal, which many observers believed to be unlikely to be reached, will have to be repeated many times over for the company to manage to successfully fill the 450,000 orders customers have paid for. 

 

 

 

After the Ontario government decided to cancel the cap-and-trade rebates for electric vehicles, the Canadian brand of Tesla was not happy. In August they announced that they were in the process of suing the Ontario government because it caused a great loss in sales for the company.  

When Doug Ford first canceled the cap and trade rebates set up by the previous Liberal Government, it was stated that the incentives in place would still be honored as long as the cars were delivered and registered by September 10. But this changed. The Conservative government is then stated that rebates are only applicable if the vehicle was purchased from a dealership, excluding those who purchased their automobiles directly from the manufacturer.  

 

 

 

 

In late October, Tesla said the Navigate on Autopilot feature which is a classified as a level-three of autonomy, would be available in their vehicles in the United States.This is the most advanced driver assistance feature released for consumers thus far. It allows the driver to switch lanes and take highway exits without having to actually pilot the car. This had Canadian Tesla drivers itching to try out these new features. In November, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk told Canadians that they can expect level-three autonomous features in their Teslas within the following week. 

 

 

 

 

Most recently, Musk has come out with the unthinkable — an underground tunnel for autonomous vehicles. Musk is definitely thinking about the future and has showed his latest project his company has been working on to the media this past week. The tunnel is his solution to congestion on the roads. The demonstration showed a Tesla Model X lowering down through an elevator that Musk’s Boring Company had built and dug in a parking lot in California. Then at the bottom of the put was the tunnel–a 1.14 mile route built to experiment with underground transportation technology. The vehicles that are equipped for the tunnel have another set of wheels that come out from under the vehicle and stick out on the side. These wheels then latch onto the sides of the tunnel making it glide at about 35 mp/h.