Edinburgh couple fume at £17K bill by Tesla as they ‘drove in rain’
An Edinburgh couple say they are “in shock” after claiming Tesla gave them a £17,000 bill to fix their battery that was ‘damaged by the rain’
Johnny Bacigalupo and Rob Hussey told how they have been faced with the massive bill when their £60,000 electric car stopped working when the capital was faced with extreme weather last week.
Following “frustrating” correspondence with the company, which boasts Elon Musk as its largest shareholder, the pair say they are still being asked to fork out £17,374 despite claiming no fault on their part.
Johnny and Rob left their home near Baberton to head to a popular city centre restaurant last Saturday. Although they arrived with no issues, they say their car wouldn’t start as they attempted to leave after enjoying their meal.
They say they waited nearly five hours from roadside assistance from Tesla support, and still have not seen their luxury car since it was wheeled away from the side of the road that evening.
Johnny said:
“I honestly can’t believe that this has happened. When I first got the call I thought we would get bill for £500 or £1000. When they said over 17 grand – it’s absolutely obscene. My heart missed a beat, honestly.
We went out for dinner and drove our car to Frederick Street. Obviously, it was wet with the weather last week, but I honestly can’t remember any huge puddles or anything like that. It’s not like I was driving my car through the Cairngorms.
After dinner the car just wouldn’t move. Eventually we had to contact the Tesla Roadside Assistance – around 10pm.
After a few annoyingly difficult further calls, and one failed collection attempt, our car was collected by a firm suitable for Tesla collection and delivered to Tesla Edinburgh about 1am.
After complaints from me, we received a call at 5.30pm on the Wednesday saying the battery was damaged due to water ingress and it was unfortunately not covered by the battery’s 8-year warranty and so the repair would be around £17,500
Did I wish to proceed?? I was flabbergasted and couldn’t really find my words”
John says he pressed representatives of Tesla on whether he or Rob were at fault for the damage, to which he claims he was told that it was a weather issue.
He continued:
“They said that the battery is effectively submerged in water. How can that be our fault?
After finally getting to speak to a manager, he told me it had water in it due to the fact the weather in Scotland has been so bad. That was the issue. They said it’s not necessarily my fault but it’s not Tesla’s to pay under warranty. He reminded me there was a yellow weather warning in some parts of Scotland.
I pushed him on this and said I’ve never heard or something like this happening. He said it can happen with Range Rovers and Mercs but I’m just not buying it.
To date, it’s been a disaster of a service and the stress and worry of this is excruciating. I said to the manager, ‘so, my understanding is, Teslas are unfit for purpose in Scotland?.”
I’ve been driving for 30 years and this is my most premium car to date and this is what it does when Edinburgh’s roads get puddles or a little wet!”
Edinburgh Live has seen correspondence between the couple and Tesla which confirms the £17,374 bill.
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Tom
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That’s cheap…it would cost over $21,000 in the US. I’m sure the bankers wouldn’t mind loaning you the money at 24%. Long after your POS tessy is dead and buried, you have fond memories as you are still paying off the new battery loan.
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Howdy
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Same as the Porsche Taycan, in a previous article, it’s the manufacturers fault due to lack of due diligence. No other explanation is acceptable.
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Terry Shipman
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I am 73, retired and hopefully my 2018 Chevrolet Silverado will last the rest of my life with only 31,000 miles on it after 5 years. After I retired in 2012 I traded for a new truck every two years. But I have finally gotten that out of my system. I pay off the 2018 model next year which will increase my retirement income. It’s an ICE vehicle and that’s all I’ll ever have.
Me purchase a battery powered vehicle? Never!
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Wisenox
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Hahahahahaha!
People have been telling the self-bloated snobs that the battery will cost as much as a petrol car. Wait ’til they start getting charged with disposal too.
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VOWG
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Not much more can be said about the EV stupidity.
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Dave
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EVs, Unsafe at any speed! 🔥🔥🔥
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Lorraine
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I read the Beckhams gifted their son and new daughter-in-law with a classic Jaguar converted to an EV. It might be cheaper to convert the Tesla to an internal combustion engine.
Don’t repeat the mistake and replace the faulty technology with more of the same.
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