Rodents feed on Teslas, causing thousands of damage

Elon Musk may have a rat problem.

Fans of the South African billionaire’s electric cars say rats, mice and rodents eat away at their Teslas. And despite losing tens of thousands of dollars to buy the expensive vehicles, Tesla refuses to cover the damages

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Sarah Williams, a 41-year-old doctor who lives in Manhattan and uses her Tesla to commute to work in the Bronx, told the Post of an alarming incident when she took her 2018 Model 3 to the Tesla dealership in Paramus, NJ, in mid-May after his air conditioner stopped working.

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“They opened the glove box and a rodent fell,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

The pest apparently found its way into Williams’ Tesla and engulfed several internal wires insulated with soy rather than oil, which critics say makes them more appealing to rodents.

When Williams – who paid $ 59,200 for his car – complained, the company refused to help. The repair took more than a month and the estimated costs climbed to over $ 5,000, she said.

Despite repeated promises that the expensive vehicle will be ready soon, Williams has been unable to pick up his Tesla at the time of this publication – nearly two months later.

“Most automakers use soy versus oil in their wire insulation for newer vehicles because it’s cheaper and better for the environment,” wrote Jose Solis, Service Advisor. Tesla, in an email to Williams that she shared with The Post. “The use of this material would not be considered a ‘defect’ in design or use… Since there are too many factors beyond Tesla’s control, we cannot cover this in connection with ‘a warranty or repair. ”

Solis is right that it’s not just Telsa.

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Automakers have been criticized for years over complaints about their allegedly rat-friendly soy-based wiring. And like Tesla, they all refused to cover the damage, claiming that the rats that chew on the guts of cars are the result of nature and therefore not their problem.

“It is a long-established fact that rodents are attracted to electrical wiring in homes, cars or any other place they may choose to nest,” Honda told the Chicago Sun-Times in June of efforts of an Illinois man to bring a class- action lawsuit against her.

So far, Tesla appears to be the only one who has escaped legal action over its use of soy-based materials. But that could change as complaints about rats in Teslas appear to increase with the brand’s popularity, now valued at $ 632 billion.

Toby Bateson, a British inventor who has developed a product designed to keep rats out of vehicles, said his company has attracted particular interest from Tesla drivers.

“We get a lot of inquiries from Tesla owners because they seem to be vulnerable to the problem,” he said, adding that his company had been contacted by around 150 Tesla owners with rodent issues over the course of the year. of the past year.

Bateson sells a product called RatMat, which he describes as a “horizontal electric fence” that keeps rodents out of vehicles. In New York City, the RatMat is distributed by a Kips Bay company called HoneyDoBoys, which charges between $ 1,500 and $ 1,700 for a system the size of a single parking space, company owner Paul said. Turzio, at the Post.

Bateson said in addition to the damage to the wiring, some Tesla owners also told him that their brake cables had been chewed on by rodents “to the point that the car was rendered unusable.”

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Other Tesla owners who complained about rats included a Tesla Motors Club forum user who complained that his 5-month-old electric vehicle “went haywire” after a mouse chewed the liquid pipe cooling, which can also be made from soybeans. materials, although it is not clear whether this is the case for Tesla.

“Apparently this is not uncommon, especially with electric cars,” lamented the user.

And this year, an apparent Tesla owner complained on Reddit that his all-new Model 3 could no longer be driven just two weeks after delivery due to damage from rats. Several other users have also complained about damage caused by mice and squirrels on the forum.

The Post did not immediately receive a response to a request for comment from Tesla, who belongs to Elon Musk, who was nicknamed “Muskrat” as a child, according to a 2009 New Yorker profile.

The complaints come as concerns about rats have generally increased.

The number of rodent complaints to New York City’s 311 hotline rose 80% in March as the economy reopened to 2,906 – even beyond March 2019 levels of 2,395, recently reported. Bloomberg reported.

One reason may be that rats were forced to change their habits during the pandemic when their normal food sources dried up, including moving into empty office buildings, according to Pest.co.uk.

We are preparing for a busy year in 2021, ”said Jenny Rathbone of Pest.co.uk.

Meanwhile, more and more Tesla are being brought into rat infested areas like the Big Apple. At least one Model 3 is currently in use as a yellow cab – and hundreds more are expected to enter service in the coming years, according to Business Insider.

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Williams says she would not recommend any other New Yorker to buy Teslas until the company protects its vehicles from rodents.

“For me, if I’m going really fast on the freeway and looking for something in my glove box and a rat comes out of it, it could be a disaster,” she said. “Who cares if you have this great technology if a rat is in there eating the wires?” ”