Recently, the US stock market star company Tesla has not only eye-catching stock price and sales, but also frequently received attention due to quality issues.
A few days ago, according to Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (hereinafter referred to as "NHTSA") stated that it has launched an investigation into approximately 115,000 Tesla vehicles on front suspension safety issues. Preliminary evaluations are currently underway for the 2015-2017 Model S and 2016-2017 Model X cars.
On the same day that the above report was published, because of being included in the S&P 500 index, Tesla's market value surpassed Berkshire Hathaway and became the sixth largest listed company in the United States. On November 30th, Eastern Time, Tesla's stock price still opened higher and hit a new high at one time, but eventually closed down 3.1% to 567.6 US dollars, with a total market value of 538 billion yuan.
is the booming sales and stock price on the one hand, and on the other hand is the frequent quality problems and recalls. Can Tesla, which has been advancing all the way this year, defend its "throne"?
115,000 vehicles were investigated.
It is reported that NHTSA is concerned about the safety of Tesla's front suspension because it has received multiple complaints from consumers.
NHTSA stated that it had previously received 43 complaints about the failure of Tesla’s left and right front suspension connecting rods, of which 32 were related to failures during low-speed parking operations, and 11 complaints stated that the failures occurred during the driving of the car. Another 8 complaints may involve the same issue, but they have not been confirmed through photos or service records. NHTSA said that related complaints indicate that the trend of such problems is still increasing. In the past three months, consumers have complained about three similar highway incidents.
Currently, NHTSA is conducting a preliminary evaluation of Tesla's 2015-2017 Model S and 2016-2017 Model X vehicles, involving a total of approximately 115,000 vehicles.
public information shows that NHTSA is the highest authority for automobile safety in the US government and an executive agency under the US Department of Transportation. Its purpose is to protect lives, prevent injuries, and reduce vehicle collisions. After logging on to the NHTSA homepage, a reporter from
saw that if consumers are dissatisfied with the models they use, they can complain about them through the NHTSA official website.
In fact, this is not the first time that Tesla’s front and rear suspensions have been exposed and there may be safety issues.
On November 20th, Tesla was filed in the District Court of California for similar issues. The complaint stated that defects in Tesla Model S and Model X car suspensions may cause the front suspension and rear suspension control arms. The component fails prematurely.
In 2017, Tesla also issued a service announcement in the United States on suspension safety issues. According to the announcement, some Model S and Model X front suspensions were not assembled in accordance with the specified procedures during the production process, which may not meet Tesla's specifications and will cause front suspension linkage failure.
Recently, Tesla has also launched two recalls in the United States. The recalls were 9,136 2016 Model X and 401 2020 Tesla Model Y. Among them, the reason for the Model X recall is that the front and rear parts of the sunroof decoration are glued without primer, which may cause some decorations to separate during the driving of the vehicle. The Model Y was recalled because the screw between the upper control arm and the steering knuckle was not tightened, resulting in possible separation.
has also been exposed in China that "the skylight is flying."
is not only in the United States. Recently, Tesla is also launching a domestic recall.
A few days ago, the "International Finance News" reporter learned from the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration that Tesla Motors (Beijing) Co., Ltd., in accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products" and the "Implementation Measures on the Administration of Recall of Defective Automobile Products" The State Administration for Market Regulation filed the recall plan. Starting from November 27, 2020, some imported Model X vehicles with a production date between March 16, 2016 and July 31, 2016 will be recalled for a total of 870 vehicles. The
recall notice shows that for the vehicles within the scope of this recall, the front roof trim and the middle trim are installed on the top of the vehicle with adhesive glue, and a primer is required to increase the adhesion between the two. Because the surface of the roof trim of some vehiclesThe primer may be insufficient. Over time, the adhesion of the plaque may weaken, and in extreme cases the plaque may fall off the vehicle. If the trim panel falls off the vehicle while driving, it will increase the risk of collision or injury to the rear vehicle on the road, especially the motorcycle, and pose a safety hazard. To put it simply, the recalled vehicle may have the sunroof falling off the vehicle under extreme conditions.
In fact, just a few days ago, Tesla was exposed that “the skylight was flying”, which caused heated discussions among netizens. A video uploaded by a Weibo blogger showed that on November 21, when a Tesla Model S was driving at a high speed in the rightmost lane, an object suddenly fell off. The fallen object rotated in midair and flew back. Fortunately, it did not hit the car behind, and then the owner of the Model S slowed down and stopped. It was later confirmed that the object being scraped off was Tesla’s glass sunroof.
"International Finance News" reporter learned from Tesla insiders that Tesla has contacted the above-mentioned car owners and is helping them solve the problem as soon as possible. After preliminary investigations, the above-mentioned vehicles had undergone roof glass replacement at a third-party authorized sheet spray center. In addition, Tesla did not disclose more information. Subsequently, Tesla quietly released the relevant recall announcement.
In fact, in October this year, a Tesla Model Y in the United States also experienced a sunroof falling event. It is reported that a Model Y owner encountered the panoramic sunroof as a whole fell off a few hours after picking up the car, when it was driving on a highway. After inspection by the repair center of the Tesla dealer, the roof of this Model Y may not be completely sealed when the sealing strip was installed in the factory, or the sealing parts of the roof may have quality problems. The recent recalls of Model X and Model Y by
in the United States may also be related to the above news.
However, in the context of frequent quality problems, Tesla's stock price and sales are still soaring. In this regard, car commentator Yan Jinghui told the "International Finance" reporter that we cannot simply exaggerate the quality problems that occur in car companies. And recall, because even century-old car companies such as Volkswagen will inevitably appear. For car companies, what is more important is the attitude of solving problems after they find quality problems. The reason why Tesla is able to achieve today's achievements in the capital market and sales is that its precise customer positioning cannot be separated from the relationship and will not be unilaterally affected by quality problems.
reporter Xiao Yisi
editor Shen Yujie
responsible editor Sun Xiao
