Tesla under fire after suspension fix cover-up

Tesla Motors Inc on Friday revised a nondisclosure clause in its customer fix agreements after a U.S. regulator took issue with the practice, while the electric carmaker’s chief executive separately called most customer reports of suspension problems in its Model S sedan fraudulent.

Tesla Motors Inc.is revising nondisclosure agreements to address concerns customers were discouraged from reporting possible safety problems with the Silicon Valley company’s vehicles, said a person familiar with the matter.

“There is no safety defect with the suspensions in either the Model S or Model X”, Tesla said.

Tesla is defending its safety record, after a report that the US auto regulator was looking at its suspension systems sent its stock down six per cent.

A Tesla customer posted a thread in the forum describing problems with the suspension in his 2013 Model S, writing that his Tesla failed at relatively low speed and that the “left front hub assembly separated from the upper control arm”.

“NHTSA confirmed today that they found no safety concern with the Model S suspension”, Musk tweeted.

Quotes from the NHTSA suggest that the agency is in the process of reviewing reports of the alleged suspension issues, but has not yet opened a formal investigation.

According to The New York Times, as many as 33 complaints from Model S owners – about their vehicle’s suspension system failure – have been received by the NHTSA since October 2015.

The auto, owned by Peter Cordaro, 61, of Connellsville, Pa., has more than 70,000 miles on it and needed two tow trucks to take it to the service center, one to get it from the dirt road he lives on to the highway, and another to take it from the highway to the service center.

Cordaro said Tesla made him sign a “goodwill agreement”, but he could not speak about the terms. Tesla did not respond a request for further comment late Friday.

In a post on its website, Tesla acknowledged presenting a “Goodwill Agreement” to customers given free or discounted repairs.

Following this, the member further said that the company sent his way a “Goodwill Agreement” that he could sign in exchange for a 50% markdown on the cost of repairs.

The battery-powered Model S has a starting price of about $70,000.

Tesla did not miss the opportunity of pointing the finger at the client that complained in the first place, saying that it is “deeply ironic” that the only customer who complained about this document as if it forbid him from speaking with the NHTSA is also the same one who contacted the authority.

Tesla, which has plans to expand from a niche vehicle maker to a major player in the industry producing 500,000 cars a year by 2018, has been particularly sensitive to reports of problems with its cars, which can cost up to $150,000.

The electric vehicle manufacturer also clarified that the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not opened any investigation or started any preliminary investigation in the issue. But it said Friday that Tesla has clarified the agreement language in a “satisfactory way” that resolves the issue.