When it Comes to Tesla (TSLA), Is There Really Anything to Complain About?
We were curious as to how many complaints have been filed with respect to the Model S. Looking at the NHTSA complaints database, we found that seven complaints have been made with the agency for the 2013 version of the vehicle. But, are those complaints valid?
Just like Amazon.com, ebay, or virtually any other site where consumer reviews are accepted, we feel you might have to take some with a grain of sand. Take this gem, for instance:
THIS IS NOT SO MUCH A COMPLAINT AS IT IS A QUESTION. I HAD THOUGHT ABOUT PURCHASING A TESLA AND I SAW PICTURES OF THE RECENT ACCIDENT THAT SPARKED, LITERALLY, A FIRE -- APPARENTLY A FRONT END COLLISION. THE EXCUSE FROM TESLA WAS THAT A PIECE OF METAL PIERCED THE BATTERIES AND THAT WILL, AS I UNDERSTAND IT ACCORDING TO TESLA, CAUSE A FIRE. I BELIEVE THAT WHEN NTHSA CRASH TESTS THESE CARS, IT IS INTO CONCRETE. AS MOST CRASHES ARE METAL TO METAL, SHOULDN'T YOU TEST, ESPECIALLY THIS CAR, BY CRASHING IT INTO ANOTHER CAR?
The
complaintwas filed October 4th, 2013, under the section
UNKNOWN OR OTHER.Obviously, no VIN is provided since the person is mulling whether to purchase one or not.
If you run a search, this will come up as a valid complaint.
There have been other complaints for such items as unintended acceleration and tires that wear too quickly. The unintended acceleration incidents made some headlines over the summer, in fact. As far as we know, those are still being investigated.
While we think Tesla is due for a pullback given the sharp run higher in its stock price this year, we also think NHTSA should put more controls on its complaint section (possibly other sections, too) to avoid submissions which wouldn't be categorized as a valid complaint and/or spam/defamatory statements from competitors.
Tesla is about flat on the session, well off intraday lows.