Second Fire cause by impact with a metal object. Recall necessary?

[ZenMan]

I just sent this e-mail to Ownership:

Dear Tesla Motors:

I am a Model S owner and a Model X signature reservation holder. I wanted to tell you that I had been disappointed in Tesla's initial responses to the battery fires that were reported in the media. Since I had experience with hitting road debris in a previous ICE vehicle, I thought the possibility of hitting something in one of my new Teslas was not impossible, and initially wanted Tesla to reinforce the battery armor to prevent the vehicle from becoming a total loss due to a battery fire.


However, the fact that Tesla is changing the battery warranty to cover accidental damage to the battery is HUGE. After reading Elon's blog post, I had the same Tesla grin that I remember from my first test drive. I already knew my Tesla was the safest vehicle on the road, and now I know I won't suffer a financial calamity if I have any battery problem, even caused by hitting road debris.


Please let the management team know that this is truly an unexpected response that completely flips the issue around and eliminates any concern I had with regard to my Model S and future Model X purchase.


Great Job!


Sincerely,

ZenMan

 

[Mario Kadastik]

You do understand that the warranty only covers fire damage? So if you hit the battery and it breaks, but doesn't start to burn, then you still have the insurance case and no warranty from Tesla.

 

[ZenMan]

You do understand that the warranty only covers fire damage? So if you hit the battery and it breaks, but doesn't start to burn, then you still have the insurance case and no warranty from Tesla.

I think you are referring to this: "Third, to reinforce how strongly we feel about the low risk of fire in our cars, we will be amending our warranty policy to cover damage due to a fire, even if due to driver error. "

I guess we'll have to see what the actual warranty language looks like. Although I was mainly concerned with the car getting totaled due to a battery fire and this does take care of that.

 

[Mario Kadastik]

I think you are referring to this: "Third, to reinforce how strongly we feel about the low risk of fire in our cars, we will be amending our warranty policy to cover damage due to a fire, even if due to driver error. "

I guess we'll have to see what the actual warranty language looks like. Although I was mainly concerned with the car getting totaled due to a battery fire and this does take care of that.

Yes, and I agree that the main worry was fire therefore this covers it nicely. It's just that your wording and language led me to believe that you thought it covered ALL battery calamities including accidental damage due to road debris that doesn't lead to a fire. That's why I elaborated

 

[brianman]

You do understand that the warranty only covers fire damage? So if you hit the battery and it breaks, but doesn't start to burn, then you still have the insurance case and no warranty from Tesla.

Yah, with the current phrasing the lesson might be:

If you hit something, make sure a fire reaches the battery.

They might want to think about that impact on potential human behavior.

 

[JRP3]

I think any battery fire with matches strewn about would be considered suspicious.