Despite NHTSA looking into the alleged issue and reportedly not finding anything, the Australian in question, Keef Wivaneff, is still filing his bogus NHTSA complaints about Tesla. Expand Expanding Close
A spokesperson for NHTSA confirmed that the agency has not found any safety issue with Tesla’s suspensions and that the company has clarified the language in its goodwill agreement. It considers the issue resolved, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared on Twitter that something suspicious is going on with the suspension complaints:
Would seem to indicate that one or more people sought to create the false impression of a safety issue where none existed. Q is why?
It can be difficult to understand why would someone falsify complaints to an official agency, which can be harmful to both the company and time-wasting for the regulators. The most obvious explanation is always money, and Tesla brought it up in a blog post following last week’s events. Expand Expanding Close
The news of NHTSA regulators looking into a potential problem with the Tesla Model S’ suspension blew up yesterday after literally hundreds of media outlets, from Reuters to the NY Times, picked up the story. There are a lot of misleading headlines and reports out there right now so let’s focus on the facts we know so far.
The actual potential problem with Tesla’s suspension is only part of what prompt NHTSA to probe the situation. Media are widely reporting that Tesla attempted to cover up the alleged problems by making owners sign a non-disclosure agreement.
NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas:
“The agency immediately informed Tesla that any language implying that consumers should not contact the agency regarding safety concerns is unacceptable, and N.H.T.S.A. expects Tesla to eliminate any such language. Tesla representatives told N.H.T.S.A. that it was not their intention to dissuade consumers from contacting the agency.”
Update: Tesla reportedly agreed to update the Goodwill agreement to clarify that anyone signing it is in no way prohibited from reporting the repair to regulators.
First of, there’s currently no investigation or recall over this issue with Tesla. NHTSA is currently reviewing the case in order to decide if it needs to open a formal investigation. We will update if we get more information from the agency, but Tesla is already out with a statement claiming that there’s no defect on the Model S’ suspension and that the ‘NDA’ was not aimed at dissuading anyone to contact regulators, but they will work with NHTSA to correct it if there’s a need. Expand Expanding Close
