How Many Owners Would Buy Again, Given the latest fire information?

[SouthJerseyJon]

Yes and I still cant wait to configure our Model X!

 

[meloccom]

I question my purchase of the Model S ... not due to the news on the fires but because of my personal experience with the tire wear on the inside tread of my rear tires. I could have easily gone without replacing the tires and ended up in a blowout at high speed but I was lucky. A couple in a parking lot pointed out that my right rear tire looked low and that I should have it checked out. Had that not occurred....I may have had a bad experience. I had received warnings about my tire pressures that was initially false...so I did not trust subsequent warnings about low tire pressure, so I know now that I need to check tire pressures at least every other week for safety's sake. This tire safety factor and the fact that I had to replace my rear tires at ~ 8000 miles had me thinking about replacing my Model S with a BMW 5 series diesel. I have definitely had thoughts of selling my Signature Series Model S because of the tire safety issue. (PMs with offers may be considered).

You should read this thread Abnormal-Tire-Wear and go and have your wheel alignment checked ASAP.

 

[TsRocket]

Absolutely! Dont ever hit anything in the road. Try even to avoid the potholes?

My mercedes with the cant of the tires, ate rubber, maseratis are worse. If you drive like a bat out of hell (like we do sometimes, cuz it feels good) you leave rubber on the road. Face it. Get tire insurance from American Tire/Discount Tire on west coast, and they warrant the tread, and give you some help, plus fix the errant screw that these cars must magnetically pick up, for FREE. Just a suggestion.

 

[Mr X]

These fires have not differed my extreme obsession with the car in any way.

 

[tezzla]

I've had two cars that caught fire in my 40 years of driving and neither one of them made the news!
fyi: both were in the 70's (electrical & oil leak)

 

[Grendal]

I haven't bought my first one yet, but of course not. I still have every intention of buying one as my signature line says. Until a Model S begins to spontaneously catch on fire there isn't any big problem in my mind. Tesla might, and I emphasize might, need to look at beefing up front of the pack against road debris. I trust that Tesla engineers will check out what happened and determine what needs to be done. For PR purposes they should do something even if it is not a big change just to relieve people's fears.

 

[DCWitt]

The news of Tesla fires is being exploited by the media because everything "Tesla" sells. Tesla is a revolutionary bundle of new technology. People love to read about it. If these fires occurred in an internal combustion automobile, no one outside a 50 mile radius of the incident would even hear about it. I drove my P85 about 300 miles today and successfully dodged road debris on I-65... twice. My Model S is unbelievably nimble and quick, so I was lucky to be driving such a capable car.
I think I have read that there are about 15,000 automobile fires per month in the United States. These fires result in about 35 fatalities each month.
3 Tesla fires in the last year (roughly), resulting in no injuries? Even if three fires per year is statistically significant with less than 20,000 S's on the road, I'm personally very comfortable with the quality and engineering in the Model S, heck, more accurately, I should say I'm dazzled. It's a GREAT car.

So... yes, I would absolutely order my Tesla Model S again! And,I can't wait to get my next Tesla, an all wheel drive Model X.

 

[TsRocket]

I'm not scared.

 

[STxTesla]

My mercedes with the cant of the tires, ate rubber, maseratis are worse. If you drive like a bat out of hell (like we do sometimes, cuz it feels good) you leave rubber on the road. Face it. Get tire insurance from American Tire/Discount Tire on west coast, and they warrant the tread, and give you some help, plus fix the errant screw that these cars must magnetically pick up, for FREE. Just a suggestion.

The tire wear is not on the bottom of the tire....it occurs on the inside sidewall....VERY dangerous if unnoticed. Tire wear on the sidewall in my mind is unacceptable.

 

[Norcalgal]

I would buy again. This lady Tesla driver loves her car.

 

[bareyb]

I would buy again. This lady Tesla driver loves her car.

You're not the same Norcalgal from the TiVo forums are you? If so, congrats, if not, hello and congrats.

 

[ecarfan]

My S85 is coming in December. I have no second thoughts about spending far more money on a Tesla than I ever have on a car. I can't wait to start driving it!

 

[gameon]

this is one put many to think differently. You keep telling that it is safest car with 100k price tag.

Also EV don't catch fire was notion among many buyers (me too up to some extend) but in reality people will think differently.

Now wait more to see how battery perform, maintenance out of warranty, mechanical issues after using it for 4-5 years etc (didn't got any reply on other thread for such information).. I am not even talking about comparing ICE of 4-5 year with similar miles but it's up to individual owner to decide.


just for curiosity how many leaf got on fire (serious don't know but just checking), spark EV is new so not counting...

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/nissan-leaf-battery-pack-survives-massive-fire-48268.html

above link tells otherwise.. I was expecting such thing from tesla or imaging it will never happen to tesla cars.... little disappointed for sure

 

[wcalvin]

Yes, I would buy a Model S again. Best front end crumple design ever. What looks like a good design for slowing down battery fires, once they start. Has handling that reduces the number of loss-of-control and overturning incidents.

Even if the numbers should eventually show that crash fires are more likely in a Model S than average, I'd bet that the numbers will also show that more occupants walk away from a Tesla crash or fire than for ICE cars with an engine up front and gasoline to vaporize.

Apropos news coverage, success always creates a counter niche for criticism. No sooner does a popular candidate gain office than it sets up critics with a pulpit.

Same for Tesla and its rave reviews: they enhance the ability of critics to get air time in a way that has little to do with the validity of the points they make. Indeed, some media milk them for "grabbing attention" and therefore ratings enhancement.

 

[StephenM]

Absolutely, positively no hesitation to do it all over again. Proud to be part of the group of early adopters who believe in the change that is coming to the automotive landscape, that is Tesla.

 

[Yggdrasill]

I haven't bought yet, but this latest fire doesn't matter much. I still want to buy next year.

The only thing I will consider a bit closer is the air suspension. I've been a bit hesitant to get the air suspension due to maintenance-concerns, purchase cost and issues with lowering onto curbs, and this road debris vulnerability might finally swing me over to the standard suspension.

 

[FredTMC]

Yep. I'd buy again without hesitation. Safest car on the road. That being said, TM will address this debris puncture issue and resolve it. This company moves faster than any other.

 

[Al Sherman]

I would not hesitate for a second. All three incidents were due to collisions (debris or otherwise). No one was hurt. ICE cars catch fire all the time - the only reason this is even slightly newsworthy is that it's an electric car.

^^^This^^^ EXACTLY.

I guess I'd get over it if the MS wasn't available for whatever reason. At this point, I can't imagine how much just driving to the grocery store would suck without this car. I'm addicted. I'm never going back.

 

[evhub]

Yes.. the incidents occured due to collisions... even all vehicles will have same effect due to collision .. why Tesla motor car fire getting highlighted? Is this because it is an EV?

 

[swon]

Yes. Thank goodness for the Internet & being able to get detailed information on the fires, along with a professional analysis from Tesla and large, color photos. Fire #1 was from road debris. Fire #2 was from an accident. Fire #3 was apparently also from road debris. The Model S is not spontaneously combusting like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. All of the occupants have made it out alive. In all three accidents, the fire has been limited to the frontal portion of the car. Of the 19,000 Tesla Model S cars on the road, no one has yet been killed inside one during an accident, over a nearly 18-month period on public streets.

Are the fires scary? Sure, especially since they burn & burn & burn. Not to be morbid, but the "no deaths" record will not stand forever. Statistically, someone will eventually die in a Tesla and someone will eventually burn to death in a battery fire, and it will be horrible. But statistically, 150,000 ICE car fires happen every year and a lot of people die in those as well, but people accept that as a risk of driving gasoline-powered cars. The Tesla has an extremely high 5-star NHTSA safety rating, a 1/4" metal plate underneath 16 firewalled battery cells, and an emergency warning system for the driver, which is pretty great. There's also no gas to spill & light on fire in the event of an accident, which is nice.

So despite the recent news, is Tesla still a viable option? For me, definitely. Yes.