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Tesla Motors’ Devastating Design Problem

theunderstatement.com -- Tesla Motors' lineup of all-electric vehicles — its existing Roadster, almost certainly its impending Model S, and possibly its future Model X — apparently suffer from a severe limitation that can largely destroy the value of the vehicle. If the battery is ever totally discharged, the owner is left with what Tesla describes as a "brick": a completely immobile vehicle that cannot be started or even pushed down the street. The only known remedy is for the owner to pay Tesla approximately $40,000 to replace the entire battery. Unlike practically every other modern car problem, neither Tesla's warranty nor typical car insurance policies provide any protection from this major financial loss. Here's how it happens.

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Submitted Feb 27, 2012 By: ultm8opie

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chemist74 Champion Author Cleveland Posts:13,510 Points:2,395,980 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Feb 28, 2012 8:22:32 AM Ignore chemist74 Report Abuse If true, this sounds like a critical design flaw that would make their cars a disaster if they were ever sold in volume.
NGC4565 Champion Author Reading Posts:3,744 Points:745,940 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 28, 2012 6:09:43 AM Ignore NGC4565 Report Abuse The Tesla is meant to be a status symbol for the wealthy anyway. These little inconveniences do no diminish it's value when you look at it that way.
Mark8601 All-Star Author Bakersfield Posts:913 Points:379,365 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Feb 28, 2012 3:48:29 AM Ignore Mark8601 Report Abuse MONIEET! 2500 Roadsters have already been built sweety! They sell for about $107K, so a little $40K battery replacement is small change. Tesla is worth 3.5 Billion. KEEP THE STOCK!
monieet All-Star Author California Posts:959 Points:529,105 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 28, 2012 2:17:19 AM Ignore monieet Report Abuse They will go under before the first car rolls off the assembly line. DUMP THE STOCK!
nurdco Champion Author Colorado Springs Posts:9,222 Points:1,693,435 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 28, 2012 12:55:14 AM Ignore nurdco Report Abuse Typical battery death problem from Lack of Recharging...
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:11,083 Points:1,621,355 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 11:55:28 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse Talk about a ton of misinformation arising from a blogger. Short out your own AA cell rechargeable battery at home and see what happens. The perceived or overplayed "problem" is easily engineered out by some simple and automatic control circuits to limit any dangerous drain on the battery packs when the car is unused for any length of time. EE201.
johnnyg1200 Champion Author St. Louis Posts:4,143 Points:644,010 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 11:21:27 PM Ignore johnnyg1200 Report Abuse Talk about a brand killer. Who except a rich hippy would by a $100,000 car that has a disputed 200 mile range, that will take $40,000 to fix if you forget to plug it in while on vacation, have an extended power failure, a bad extension cord or God forbid a personal emergency that prevents you from hooking up your car. Just imagine having a medical emergency while at work. You go to the hospital for two or three weeks rack thousands of dollars in bill only to find that your expensive toy is now another $40,000 expense that can’t even be towed to the shop. The best part is this is what hundreds of millions of your tax dollars are producing and calling it progress. This will be the next Solendra. [Edited by: johnnyg1200 at 2/27/2012 11:22:19 PM EST]
Tucker16 Champion Author Ottawa Posts:1,159 Points:542,880 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 10:25:21 PM Ignore Tucker16 Report Abuse I doubt $40k will be much to the kind of people who buy Teslas.
bullman68 All-Star Author St. Louis Posts:599 Points:366,285 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 10:07:30 PM Ignore bullman68 Report Abuse Should be an easy safeguard to put in place.
Masonbulldog Champion Author Lansing Posts:2,867 Points:597,550 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 10:03:28 PM Ignore Masonbulldog Report Abuse Obama/Chu mucked up again and didn't do their homework before borrowing millions more to give subsidies.
alterman156 Champion Author New York Posts:7,480 Points:1,556,550 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 9:38:22 PM Ignore alterman156 Report Abuse Tesla should make sure that their cars do not become a "brick" should the battery become totally depleted.
ObieDog Champion Author Maryland Posts:1,961 Points:850,920 Joined:Sep 2010	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 9:23:15 PM Ignore ObieDog Report Abuse Now I'm not going to buy one.
rbrk02 Champion Author Rhode Island Posts:5,730 Points:816,030 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 9:19:29 PM Ignore rbrk02 Report Abuse And there continues to be those who push these things on the rest of us??? I'll pass on anything electric, thank you.
CVA19 Champion Author Salem Posts:2,393 Points:608,700 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 9:00:32 PM Ignore CVA19 Report Abuse Sounds like Tesla should get together with Envia Systems. Then they will have smaller, useless bricks.
Tacodan Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:2,313 Points:653,215 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 6:18:31 PM Ignore Tacodan Report Abuse bricks belong in a pile !
clpassenubye Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:3,359 Points:751,730 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 4:47:54 PM Ignore clpassenubye Report Abuse That's a huge problem and if its not fixed bye bye Tesla.
hornet17 Champion Author Vancouver Posts:1,323 Points:440,865 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 4:12:10 PM Ignore hornet17 Report Abuse That's pretty serious. Why would anyone buy one of these if this issue isn't fixed right away.
gizbo123 Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:1,511 Points:1,751,050 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:53:22 PM Ignore gizbo123 Report Abuse the gov, aka tax payer.
doeslayersr Champion Author Illinois Posts:9,111 Points:871,030 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:36:44 PM Ignore doeslayersr Report Abuse oops... do not worry, the government will step in and make it right for the poor owner.
Night Owl Champion Author Toronto Posts:7,545 Points:1,785,625 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:30:51 PM Ignore Night Owl Report Abuse Horrible design! Electric vehicle batteries are really expensive and protection should have been designed in by Tesla Motors.
SilverDodge2000 Champion Author Spokane Posts:1,036 Points:185,390 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:20:54 PM Ignore SilverDodge2000 Report Abuse $40,000 battery replacement. They didn't design in a battery disconnect on low voltage feature? They must only come in lemon yellow.
dh0770 Champion Author Colorado Posts:6,987 Points:672,460 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:06:29 PM Ignore dh0770 Report Abuse Wow - Tesla better ask for a bailout!
RochBear Champion Author Minnesota Posts:10,462 Points:1,740,965 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 2:03:07 PM Ignore RochBear Report Abuse Sheesh, when was the last time any of you ran out of gas? When it gets low on "fuel" fill it up. IT's the same with an EV. The only difference is every house has a "filling station" It's called a plug in. But I am surprized that Tesla does not make a software change that shuts the car down when the batteries get down to 1%. So it does not kill the batteries. Seems like a simple thing to do.
df99 All-Star Author Rhode Island Posts:578 Points:991,850 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:51:35 PM Ignore df99 Report Abuse And we thought range anxiety was the issue!
nfldude Champion Author San Diego Posts:3,864 Points:444,830 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:31:45 PM Ignore nfldude Report Abuse Makes no sense. How could it cost $40 grand? Sounds like someone just making up a number. Will Tesla sell you a McDonald's McDouble sandwich (from the dollar menu) for $10?
gasokie Champion Author Oklahoma Posts:3,442 Points:1,324,255 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:29:47 PM Ignore gasokie Report Abuse Gee. Not a good time to own stock in Tesla Motors. Soon be just another footnote in automotive history.
OaklandInvaders Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,346 Points:567,280 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:26:09 PM Ignore OaklandInvaders Report Abuse time ot gfet it fixed and make it work
Tigercat88 Champion Author North Carolina Posts:3,192 Points:615,890 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:23:08 PM Ignore Tigercat88 Report Abuse EV's are the future boat anchors.
kag2010 Champion Author Winnipeg Posts:5,249 Points:1,018,785 Joined:Apr 2010	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:12:17 PM Ignore kag2010 Report Abuse SO..........
Yooperheart Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,410 Points:526,050 Joined:Feb 2010	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:10:59 PM Ignore Yooperheart Report Abuse That's a little hefty, ya think.
tnfran Champion Author Arizona Posts:4,378 Points:842,190 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 1:09:23 PM Ignore tnfran Report Abuse SO.......... still another reason NOT to have one of these Very Expensive electric cars even given the 'small number of times this has happened so far'.
sandy29IL Rookie Author Illinois Posts:32 Points:9,230 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:52:56 PM Ignore sandy29IL Report Abuse this is why i'm still skeptical
ramammoth Champion Author Modesto Posts:1,472 Points:295,155 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:51:22 PM Ignore ramammoth Report Abuse They'll fix it and move on.
md11capt Champion Author Denver Posts:3,558 Points:709,980 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:49:22 PM Ignore md11capt Report Abuse And an expensive brick at that.
buckets42 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,690 Points:329,550 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:43:02 PM Ignore buckets42 Report Abuse Just plain stupid - goodbye Tesla.
The_DR Champion Author New Jersey Posts:2,780 Points:584,090 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:42:38 PM Ignore The_DR Report Abuse huh?
TRYWI All-Star Author Appleton Posts:898 Points:282,150 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Feb 27, 2012 12:38:21 PM Ignore TRYWI Report Abuse Ok