FUD - Businesses insider "The star of 'Aladdin' claims a defect in his Tesla Model 3"

[ybbor]

Talk about FUD!
The star of 'Aladdin' claims a defect in his Tesla Model 3 led to his car wreck, and it comes from a problem area the company has known about for years

They don't seem to realize there is a difference between the Model 3 and the Models S? Worst article I've read in a while.

 

[kbecks13]

Talk about FUD!
The star of 'Aladdin' claims a defect in his Tesla Model 3 led to his car wreck, and it comes from a problem area the company has known about for years

They don't seem to realize there is a difference between the Model 3 and the Models S? Worst article I've read in a while.

I mean, this is certainly not good if true and the fact that Geico agreed that it was Tesla's fault is pretty interesting. While the suspension components are different between S and 3, the methods and suppliers who make them are likely very similar.

Let's not just sweep this under the rug and ignore it because it's bad news, it deserves a legit investigation.

 

[kengchang]

NO CLICK FOR BI

 

[qdeathstar]

I’m not surprised Gieco decided that deep pockets (tesla) were at fault. All they do is ask the guy what happened and based their report on that.

We will have to wait for it to play out in court. But it sounds more likely that the guy was playing with his new toy and ran into trouble that a wheel flew off the Tesla.


Even with the documented issues with the model S, they didn’t result in complete loss of control of the vehicle.

 

[focher]

NO CLICK FOR BI

Exactly.

 

[jjh1234]

I know someone directly involved with a Tesla approved body shop and they say Geico is the absolute worst of any other insurance company when it comes to paying for repairs. They will fight tooth and nail to get out of paying.

 

[dennisvab]

My $0.02 cents. The wheel and wheel carrier are missing in the photo from the article, and I would say that is consistent with the car hitting something in the right most quarter section, and shearing off the wheel. Notice how much of the front bumper cover is still present, this would suggest the impact was directly into the front wheel, and as a result the front fender is torn off in that direction.

I find it very unlikely that he lost that front right wheel, AND still managed to hit that same corner.

I would say the dashcam footage from the repeaters and front cameras would clear up his story.

 

[Darscot]

If the wheel just fell off the odds of the car making impact in that exact spot are very low. With the wheel missing that part of the is going to be dragging on the road with an incredible amount of friction and resistance. That resistance will cause the car to turn so the missing wheel is opposite of the direction of travel.

 

[Matt L]

I mean, this is certainly not good if true and the fact that Geico agreed that it was Tesla's fault is pretty interesting. While the suspension components are different between S and 3, the methods and suppliers who make them are likely very similar.

Let's not just sweep this under the rug and ignore it because it's bad news, it deserves a legit investigation.

Who else would Geico blame it on?

 

[Matt L]

Talk about FUD!
The star of 'Aladdin' claims a defect in his Tesla Model 3 led to his car wreck, and it comes from a problem area the company has known about for years

They don't seem to realize there is a difference between the Model 3 and the Models S? Worst article I've read in a while.

You can see the impact marks on the bumper. “The wheel just fell off” yeah ok.

Tesla release the footage.

 

[dennisvab]

You can see the impact marks on the bumper. “The wheel just fell off” yeah ok.

Tesla release the footage.

I don’t think Tesla will release the footage. But if the driver wants to make such claims against Tesla, he should release it.

 

[afadeev]

I know someone directly involved with a Tesla approved body shop and they say Geico is the absolute worst of any other insurance company when it comes to paying for repairs. They will fight tooth and nail to get out of paying.

That is very true, based on my first-hand experience of having a car repaired after an at-fault Geico insured @#$% had side-swiped us.

I’m not surprised Gieco decided that deep pockets (tesla) were at fault. All they do is ask the guy what happened and based their report on that.

I seriously doubt it was that simple.
Suing the OEM is a very long, expensive, and low probability of success proposition. Geico (and any other insurer) will still be treating this as a comprehensive claim, and will have dinged the TM3 owner for the comprehensive deductible.

If they confirmed that the wheel had come off on the 2nd day of vehicle ownership due to a likely manufacturing defect, and if Tesla had admitted to similar manufacturing defects in Models S & X, than as an owner of a Model 3, I definitely want to hear more on the subject.

Inserting label "HUD" into the thread is a dis-service to the subject matter.

Even with the documented issues with the model S, they didn’t result in complete loss of control of the vehicle.

A wheel coming off (due to control arm failures, etc) will definitely induce loss of control.
No two ways around that.

a

 

[sreams]

That is very true, based on my first-hand experience of having a car repaired after an at-fault Geico insured @#$% had side-swiped us.



I seriously doubt it was that simple.
Suing the OEM is a very long, expensive, and low probability of success proposition. Geico (and any other insurer) will still be treating this as a comprehensive claim, and will have dinged the TM3 owner for the comprehensive deductible.

If they confirmed that the wheel had come off on the 2nd day of vehicle ownership due to a likely manufacturing defect, and if Tesla had admitted to similar manufacturing defects in Models S & X, than as an owner of a Model 3, I definitely want to hear more on the subject.

Inserting label "HUD" into the thread is a dis-service to the subject matter.




A wheel coming off (due to control arm failures, etc) will definitely induce loss of control.
No two ways around that.

a

BI destroys the credibility of their own reporting by bringing up the thoroughly discredited "whompy wheels" topic.

The picture of the wheel shows that the wheel came off along with the brakes and part of the CV axle. A lot of parts would have to fail simultaneously without the driver noticing for that to happen. As an auto mechanic, I can tell you this is highly unlikely.

 

[Electroman]

That is yet another Linette Lopez hit piece..

 

[dww12]

TMZ

The wheel has a huge dent in it, seems unlikely for a wheel that “fell off”. Not so much for a wheel that was on until it was driven into a tree. What are the chances there is rubber in the tree and tree in the tire?

 

[Wooloomooloo]

I saw this story at the weekend in a FB group - the way he describes the "accident" is just ridiculous. Something about the wheel randomly exploding at low speed - looking at the car damage, is was probably flooring it like an idiot, managed to spin or skid the car (which would take some doing) and had a side impact at at-least 30 - 40mph, if not faster.

Just someone else not taking responsibility.

 

[Darscot]

TMZ

The wheel has a huge dent in it, seems unlikely for a wheel that “fell off”. Not so much for a wheel that was on until it was driven into a tree. What are the chances there is rubber in the tree and tree in the tire?

100% that wheel was on the car when it made contact. The wheel itself just does not have enough weight to cave in like that, it would bounce off. You see wheels come of in auto racing and they bounce of the walls relatively unharmed. When they are on the car its a different story all together.

 

[mtndrew1]

TMZ

The wheel has a huge dent in it, seems unlikely for a wheel that “fell off”. Not so much for a wheel that was on until it was driven into a tree. What are the chances there is rubber in the tree and tree in the tire?

Somehow TMZ (!) has a more balanced report of this incident than Business Insider.

That wheel is squashed, all kinds of other parts are ripped off, and there are apparently no friction marks leading up to the tree.

If the wheel had separated from the car it would have rolled away apart from the car and come to a stop without a big dent in it. The car’s undercarriage would have scraped along the pavement and left gouges. And the car dragging along the pavement combined with jumping a curb would have likely slowed it to a degree that it wouldn’t gave taken a big chunk out of a tree and deployed the airbags.

This looks like a 23 year old kid starring in a flop movie hooning his new 450hp car around city streets and losing control. Then of course taking no responsibility.

Anything is possible but at first blush this has no signs of a vehicle defect, just a bad driver in a powerful car.

I love how “geico saying it was Tesla’s fault” is somehow held up as evidence. This will be paid out as a comprehensive claim and he will be paying the deductible. If geico really thought it was the defect of the car that caused the accident *they* would be suing Tesla to recover their loss. The insurance adjuster probably told the kid what he wanted to hear to move things along as it has no bearing on the loss payout.

 

[Darthbenji]

Did geico actually say they blame Tesla? There’s a difference between finding a driver not at fault and blaming someone. If they believe the tire blew then the driver wouldn’t be found at fault. That’s not the same as saying the wheel came off and it’s Tesla’s fault.

 

[MasterC17]

The first thing that makes no sense here is that the wheel "fell off" due to defects in the suspension. That's impossible. The only way for the wheel to "fall off" is for it to separate from the wheel hub (i.e. the lug nuts are loose to the point where they all back off/the studs eventually snap). Even then, the studs do a pretty good job of at least holding a few of the lug nuts on, and it's VERY obvious well before hand that something is wrong. The wheel doesn't just fly away with no warning.

Furthermore, the design of the suspension on the Model 3 has three attachment points on the knuckle. Additionally, the strut attaches to the lower arm and then has three nuts attaching it to the body of the car. For the wheel to "fall off" due to defects in the suspension, multiple pieces of the suspension would have all had to fail at the same exact time. Again, this is literally impossible.

Either this guy hit the tree (my guess) or the lug nuts were loose (unlikely).

 

[Matt L]

The first thing that makes no sense here is that the wheel "fell off" due to defects in the suspension. That's impossible. The only way for the wheel to "fall off" is for it to separate from the wheel hub (i.e. the lug nuts are loose to the point where they all back off/the studs eventually snap). Even then, the studs do a pretty good job of at least holding a few of the lug nuts on, and it's VERY obvious well before hand that something is wrong. The wheel doesn't just fly away with no warning.

Furthermore, the design of the suspension on the Model 3 has three attachment points on the knuckle. Additionally, the strut attaches to the lower arm and then has three nuts attaching it to the body of the car. For the wheel to "fall off" due to defects in the suspension, multiple pieces of the suspension would have all had to fail at the same exact time. Again, this is literally impossible.

Either this guy hit the tree (my guess) or the lug nuts were loose (unlikely).

The TMZ picture still shows the hub and brakes still attached. It was all ripped off at high speed.