Tesla Nightmare: Woman’s EV Supercharge SHUTDOWN
Tesla Repairs Gone Wrong
SCOTTSDALE, AZ. — Erine Erickson, a Tesla enthusiast hailing from Scottsdale, had an unexpected and frustrating experience with her beloved Tesla Model 3. It all began when her Tesla’s battery decided to call it quits last month. She promptly took her EV to the nearest Tesla service center, and to her relief, they replaced the battery under their warranty – a free fix, no less.
However, here’s where the plot twist unfolds. During the battery replacement process, Tesla’s diligent technicians unwittingly deactivated a key feature that lets Tesla drivers supercharge their vehicles in a mere 15 minutes. Unfortunately, Erickson only discovered this hiccup when she pulled up at a supercharger station, eagerly anticipating a speedy recharge for her Tesla. But, to her dismay, her car wouldn’t juice up.
Picture the scene: confused onlookers tried to help, offering their own troubleshooting suggestions. Erickson, equally perplexed, recalled the situation, saying, “That’s when people saw me and came up to me, and people were trying to troubleshoot it. But nobody had ever seen anything like it.”
Well, here’s the kicker. Tesla had, in fact, intentionally deactivated Erickson’s supercharger feature, all in the name of safety. What’s the reason behind this seemingly strange decision, you ask? Well, when Tesla replaced her battery, they stumbled upon a rather concerning detail. According to Carfax, Erickson’s car had a salvaged title, typically implying it had been totaled in a serious collision.
As a safety precaution, Tesla decided to disable the supercharger feature. But, as fate would have it, Carfax’s information was flat-out wrong. It turned out that an insurance company had provided erroneous information, falsely branding Erickson’s car as totaled. In reality, her Tesla had only suffered minor damage from a fender bender – far from the catastrophe implied by the dreaded “salvaged title.”
Despite mounting evidence that her car was, in fact, in pristine condition, Tesla remained unresponsive. “I wouldn’t characterize it as customer service,” Erickson remarked, highlighting the lack of direct communication channels with the automaker. “I mean, there’s not a way to email them. There’s a way to communicate on the app, but they don’t respond.”
Enter the heroes of the story – “On Your Side.” Erickson reached out to them, and they took her case to Tesla, clearly explaining the issue at hand. In a welcome turn of events, Tesla finally realized their mistake: Erickson’s car was never totaled, and they promptly reactivated the supercharging feature.
Erickson couldn’t help but express her gratitude for the intervention. She admitted, “I’ve retraced my steps, sending more than 30 emails, and every day, I’ve been grappling with this issue, receiving hardly any response. It was only when your team stepped in that we saw any progress.”
In the end, while it took some persistence and external assistance, Erickson’s Tesla is back to its supercharging glory. It’s a reminder that even with a company like Tesla, sometimes, a little extra push is needed to resolve issues, especially when direct lines of communication appear to be a tad elusive. Interestingly, Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla, notably did away with the company’s PR department, making stories like Erickson’s even more crucial.
By: M Z Hossain, Editor Sky Buzz Feed
