Tesla sells itself on lower cost of ownership due to fewer parts. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Tesla has history of laundering both new and used lemons in the US and abroad. They were sued for this practice by a whistleblower who had knowledge of and was told to participate in more than one distinct scheme to do so. Tesla settled that case pursuant to an NDA. Typically, when a company employee sues the company for fraud, the company doesn’t settle. See this article for more details: Tesla Resells Defective Buyback Cars Abroad
Perhaps even more telling is how Tesla insurance rates are the HIGHEST in the industry. Tesla’s “new” (the image below is from 2016) insurance product is just a way to make the company seem like they are addressing something that they cannot. Teslas are involved in accidents > 2x ICE vehicles and more than any other EV. That’s not good for cost of ownership. In 2018 in Norway, where statistics are available for the whole country, a staggering 20.4% of Tesla’s owners were involved in a collision vs 13.5% for other EV’s & 9% for ice cars.
Why are Tesla’s so expensive to insure? One of the reasons is their abysmal build quality. Below are a few articles and some photos collected to give the reader a sense of the issues surrounding build quality.
- Angry Model 3 Owner Sues Tesla Over Peeling Paint
- Tesla’s Dent the Most
- Glass Roof Flies Off on Highway
