Tesla’s In A Sticky Suspension Problem

2016 Tesla Model S (Credit: Tesla Motors)

Some Tesla Model S owners have been saying their suspension arms have failed early. Things like that happen, even with experienced automakers, so you can hardly call for Tesla to be burned at the stake for that. Instead, the situation has exploded into something that’s almost unbelievable.

There’ve been accusations that Tesla tells vehicle owners to stay quiet about any defects. The company has people sign a Goodwill agreement that’s basically a nondisclosure. In return, they get the car fixed.

NHTSA launched an investigation into the practice, along with the faulty parts claims. To call a nondisclosure in return for repairs is unusual would be an understatement. But Tesla says it doesn’t ask car owners to not report safety issues to NHTSA, and that the government is done investigating the issue.

Tesla issued a statement about a journalist that’s been critical of the company, wondering if he was trying to publish stories at strategic times to harm its stock prices. E.W. Niedermeyer from the Daily Kanban, the journalist in question, took to Twitter and fired back, going so far as to complain that the company misspelled his name, among other things. This has only complicated matters.

The good news is that the wording of the Goodwill agreement has been changed to clarify that Tesla owners can contact NHTSA with concerns. Government investigators also said they didn’t find any safety concerns with Tesla vehicles.

Elon Musk has a theory: the suspension issue was a conspiracy. He said almost all of the suspension failure claims were false.