Tesla Owner Regrets Buying a Tesla After Having to Pay $26K For a New Battery
A Tesla owner in Canada swears off the brand for good after finding out a battery replacement on his 2013 Model S would cost $26,000.
Driving an
electric car
comes with plenty of perks—they’re eco-friendly, require fewer repairs over time, and save you tons of money on fuel. There is, however, one big expense that every EV owner dreads. Battery replacements
for electric cars can cost upwards of $10,000, and one Tesla owner in Canada is looking at an alleged $26,000 bill for a new one. Jerry, the car ownership super app, dives into just what happened, and why this incident could have serious implications for Tesla.
Tesla owner alleges underlying issues for battery failure
According to
Fox Business
, Mario Zelaya of Canada took to TikTok when his $140,000 2013 Tesla Model S locked him out after the battery died. When he contacted the electric automaker, he was told that a replacement would cost $26,000. In Canada, just eight years of warranty coverage is standard for EV batteries.
While Zelaya’s battery is outside of the warranty window, he asserts that it is still too early for battery failure, and cites a known issue among 2013 and 2014 model years as the potential culprit.
According to Zelaya, fluid from the air conditioning system has been leaking onto the battery.
“I’ll never buy another Tesla again”
Regardless of how the situation pans out, Zelaya firmly stated he has been turned off from the brand forever. “I'll never buy another Tesla again," Zelaya said as reported by Fox Business. "They're brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they're a 10-year-old company."
While most new Tesla owners report feeling very satisfied with their purchase, it will be interesting to see how the electric automaker’s reputation will fare as older models reach the battery-replacement age.
Tesla vehicles have also been plagued with safety and privacy concerns in recent years, facing a seemingly endless slew of lawsuits over
faulty self-driving features
, lethal crashes, breaking free-charging promises
, and more. When it comes to lawsuits, Tesla tends to make the most headlines, but the sad truth is that most automakers are subject to massive lawsuits, recalls, and other issues related to vehicle performance.
Is buying a Tesla worth the risk?
There are loads of benefits to driving a Tesla vehicle, but this latest battery mishap points to a bigger issue surrounding electric cars and their potentially costly problems.
In order to perform quality control of its vehicles and protect technicians, Tesla has an "Unsupported or Salvage Vehicle Policy." This means that should any unsupported repairs be done on a Tesla, the company can revoke access to its Supercharging network.
This has sparked a discussion surrounding the
Right to Repair
electric vehicles like Tesla. Right to Repair would allow Tesla owners to repair their vehicles and property either themselves or through a third-party source outside of the original manufacturer. Allowing Tesla drivers more options for repair services could not only help them save time and money but potentially prevent situations like Zelaya’s altogether.
Another way to save yourself time and money is through the
Jerry
app. A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance.
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