A Tesla owner faced a frustrating ordeal when he discovered he was locked out of his car until he paid a hefty $26,000 for a new battery.
Mario Zelaya from Canada expressed his frustration with his $140,000 Tesla, calling it ‘trash.’
He was upset to discover that he needed a new battery to unlock the doors.
Tesla owner can’t access his own car until paying $26K for battery replacement
In a video shared on TikTok, it was revealed that the car had automatically locked itself due to the battery being completely drained.
Unlike conventional cars, where doors can be opened or locksmiths can be called if the key is lost, Tesla doors rely on battery power.
This means that if the battery fails, the doors become unresponsive.
“$26K for a new battery. Locked out of the car. Recalls are needed.”
To Mario’s dismay, it wasn’t just a matter of recharging the battery; it had completely malfunctioned, necessitating a full replacement.
The $26,000 price for a new battery left him enraged.
He began to consider selling the car, as it no longer seemed financially viable to keep.
However, selling the Tesla presented another challenge as Mario needed the proof of ownership papers, which inconveniently were locked inside the car.
This predicament forced him to spend an additional $30 to obtain another copy of the ownership papers before he could proceed with selling the vehicle.
Mario’s troubles began in 2013 due to Tesla battery leaks.
Mario’s troubles stemmed from a technical issue dating back to 2013 when some Tesla models experienced fluid leaks into the battery.
Even models from 2014 were susceptible to this fault, leading to significant operational issues within the vehicles.
In his frustration, Mario involved Transport Canada in investigating the matter.
The motorist added: “I got Transport Canada involved, and they actually did an investigation on the car.
Not only did they do an investigation on this car, they’re gonna be doing one that Tesla doesn’t realize is coming up.”
He mentioned that he had spoken with another Tesla owner who faced a similar issue.
Both claimed that Tesla was evasive in explaining the battery failures.
Expressing his disillusionment, Mario declared that he would never buy another Tesla.
He criticized the company’s manufacturing processes and customer service.
“I’ll never buy another Tesla again,” Mario claimed. “That’s the long way of me saying stay the f**k away from Teslas.
They’re brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they’re a 10-year-old company,” Mario said.
Social media reactions
On social media, people also shared their unexpected opinions on the Tesla issues.
Some users were shocked by the high cost of the battery replacement and expressed their frustration.
Many felt that the situation highlighted significant flaws in the way Tesla handles such issues.
Y’all keep this mess I’ll stick to my regular fueled car, one user said.
I absolutely can’t wait for ev only so we can all be locked out of our cars for our safety, the second user.
I’m not a fan of Tesla/electric cars, but this article wouldn’t be here if Elon Musk didn’t purchase Twitter lol, the second user commented.
I’m glad my 2015 Ford f150 can’t do that, the third user said.
Stay with fossil-fueled vehicles, another wrote.
I just figured out why Teslas are so expensive, It’s because they charge a lot, someone said.