Previously, Elon Musk claimed that the value of his cars would appreciate over time—something heretofore impossible in the history of automobile manufacturing. Tesla does retain its value better than many other cars with 69 percent resale value after three years but there appears to be a catch, Tesla won’t honor their warrant on the car’s battery if you buy one secondhand.
Here’s the details:
Tesla will appreciate in value
Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk is standing by a claim that the company’s electric cars will be appreciating assets once they’re capable of driving themselves.
Musk, Tesla’s chief executive officer, first made the claim in a podcast interview in April that the company’s vehicles will gain in value because they’ll eventually be capable of fully autonomous driving. He stood by this in a reply to a follower who wrote Tuesday that he was unsure if the CEO was joking or making a “really dumb” statement.
With the exception of collectors’ cars and other rare cases, depreciation has been a fact of life for automakers, dealers and rental-car companies for decades. While Kelley Blue Book has handed Tesla a best resale value award for its Model 3, for example, the car-shopping researcher estimates the sedan retains about 69% of its value after three years.
Musk Stands by His Tesla Appreciation Claim That Was Called ‘Really Dumb’
Tesla battery promises made
Tesla promises to warrant their battery for 8 years
Tesla car battery has an eight-year warranty. With this warranty, repairs and replacements are free. Such repairs may include defects in the workmanship or materials of any of the battery’s parts.
How Much Does Tesla Battery Replacement Cost?
If there are any parts that are malfunctioning or if the battery is defective, Tesla will repair or replace the unit. The warranty will also be covering any damage that may happen to your vehicle in the event of a battery fire, even if this may be because of driver error.
Tesla promises broken
Thanks to the diligent work of our staff, it has been brought to my attention that Tesla won’t uphold their promise to honor the warranty on the car’s battery. Folks this has gotten so bad that Tesla has been hit with a class action lawsuit.
Tesla is facing a class action lawsuit filed by consumers who claim that the car company does not honor battery warranties on pre-owned vehicles.
The plaintiff alleges that after his research, he decided to purchase a 2014 “certified pre-owned” (CPO) Tesla Model S 60.
“All of the marketing materials that Plaintiff saw in the news, be it Tesla.com and/or Teslamotorsclub.com and/or other car-buying and automotive websites indicated that the used CPO vehicles sold by Tesla were given a 270-point inspection and that it was customary for Tesla to take care of repairs and issues with their vehicles,” the Tesla class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff alleges that he depended on Tesla’s “marketing, advertisements, and representations” that his vehicle would be fully inspected and certified.
After he took the vehicle home and started to charge the battery, he reportedly found out that the battery only lasted 166 miles on a full charge.
The plaintiff claims that he brought the car to a service center and they made a correction to the Battery Management System (BMS), but that didn’t fix the problems with the battery.
The Tesla class action lawsuit alleges, “Plaintiff was told to report back to the service center after driving around with the car and after ‘cycling’ the battery, which refers to the practice of charging to 100% and discharging the battery to low levels for purposes of recalibrating the battery.”
The plaintiff claims that Tesla informed him that his vehicle suffers from “normal battery degradation.”
“Despite the fact that Tesla warrantied Plaintiff’s vehicle with a 2-year, 100,000 mile limited warranty, and the fact that it provided a 8-year, unlimited mile battery warranty, Tesla has failed its duty to Plaintiff by unlawfully, improperly, and fraudulently denying proper service and repair of Plaintiff’s vehicle,” the Tesla class action lawsuit alleges.
“Tesla focuses its efforts on allaying the fears of what some drivers of electric vehicles call ‘range anxiety’ by representing to consumers nationwide that they can rely on Tesla’s promises to take care of them no matter what happens to the batteries of Tesla’s vehicles. As it turns out for many consumers who were led on to believe Tesla’s promises, the fact is that Tesla never actually meant to keep their promises and follow through on their guarantees,” the plaintiff states.Tesla Class Action Says Pre-Owned Warranties Aren’t Honored
The Tesla class action lawsuit is alleging violations of the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule, and numerous California laws including the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Consumer’s Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, and Violation of California’s False Advertising Law.
Elon may regret the decision to manufacture cars in California once he gets to experience firsthand the litigious, antibusiness climate in the once Golden State.
Tesla reputation will fade
Folks this is a big deal because Tesla batteries are in more places than just their cars. Elon’s solar empire—weak as it may be—is also dependent on using Tesla batteries. In some circles, Tesla homes are a thing. The fact is Tesla batteries are just like everybody else’s, it’s just that Elon—like Apple—can charge a premium just by putting their name on something. Oh, and unlike most manufacturers, Tesla’s battery factories are built with taxpayer subsidies.
I know that replacing a battery on a hybrid car is about $3K but a Tesla is much more.
Do you need to replace your car battery? … how much will it cost to replace a Tesla battery.
How Much Does Tesla Battery Replacement Cost?
Answer is between $5,000 to $7,500 and it depends on what model Tesla you drive.
Folks, I expect this to be the beginning of a trend as more Tesla cars hit the road. It’s no secret that quality control issues have plagued these vehicles from the beginning. Elon keeps claiming the future will be better but it’s the past that he should hope never catches up with him.