I have two Teslas - Model S (from 2016) and Model 3 (2018). I believe the following are all true:<p>- Tesla's build quality is quite bad<p>- I hate Elon now because of his nonsensical tweets and trying hard to stay cool and relevant<p>- 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<p>- Model 3 is the BEST car I have ever driven. It is awesome, and I would recommend anyone in a heartbeat
Tesla 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.<p>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.
"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. "<p>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?
Sadly, 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.
> he spoke with a Tesla representative, who said that "everything was done correctly" when manufacturing the car.<p>Does this mean they expect a roof to fly off even when things are done "correctly"? What happens when they make the inevitable mistake?<p>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.
I saw this post on Reddit 2 days ago : <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/j59ovh/so_teslas_quality_control_is_embarrassingly_bad/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/comments/j59ovh/so_tesl...</a><p>He was told to Tweet about it and that media would pick it up, sounds like it worked.
Check 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.<p>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.<p>[1]<a href="https://youtu.be/8kDQvycMpmg" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/8kDQvycMpmg</a>
Loving all of the headlines about the new Tesla convertible.<p>"Unexpected Convertible" - science.times.com<p>"Tesla Accidentally Produces Model Y Convertible" - thedetroitbureau.com<p>"Tesla convertible?" -- fr24news.com<p>"Tesla Model Y Turns Convertible" -- carbuzz.com<p>"Tesla Model Y convertible anyone?" -- auto.hindustantimes.com
Yeah, the first year of any new Tesla model is essentially a beta test. Most people won't have issues, but a few will.<p>The nature of manufacturing is that 1-in-1000 problems only show up after a few thousand have been manufactured.<p>I personally wouldn't buy a Model Y (or any new Tesla model) until the production line has been running for a year.
While 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.<p>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.
Well, 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.
Most notable production problems documented here: <a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-y-ev-safety-quality-issues-problems/" rel="nofollow">https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-model-y-ev-safety-qual...</a>
Could 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?<p>> 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.<p>That's a... no? Situation normal, carry on, everybody... concerning, indeed.
> 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.<p>He must have found the ejection feature, still in beta.
Back 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.
Not surprisingly, Tesla is at bottom of the list of all carmakers in Initial Quality. You can clearly see they prioritize shipping over quality.<p><a href="https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-initial-quality-study-iqs" rel="nofollow">https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-initial...</a>
I 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.
I 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.
Pre 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.<p>Held off on both occasions due to these quality reasons.<p>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.
Are 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?
Clearly it was defective, neither ejection seat apparently fired. :-)<p>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.
If 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.
Elon Musk, to customer: I'm sorry for your experience<p>also Elon Musk, to product management: why don't we have a targa option? that looks amazing
Question 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.<p>I feel like this could be an expected behavior for any extremely new car if that is the case.
should you buy a tesla? what are the best alternatives?<p>take this quiz to get personalized vehicle recommendations based on your unique situation and actual owner ratings:<p><a href="https://driverbase.com/recommendation/step1" rel="nofollow">https://driverbase.com/recommendation/step1</a><p>it is a free car comparison tool - no email or account required to get your results.
Redirects me to the local version of businessinsider and 404's.<p><a href="https://archive.is/GZtG6" rel="nofollow">https://archive.is/GZtG6</a>
You don't buy a Tesla for reliability. You buy one to show your friends.<p>No other automaker gets this pass(except maybe Jeep vehicles).<p>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?)
Let'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.