The paint on a brand new Tesla disappeared in several places on the car when the car was washed for the first time. According to the consumer complaints board, the damages amount to DKK 75,000.
A three-week-old Tesla Model Y Performance suffered serious paint damage after the first car wash.
The owner discovered that large parts of the paintwork were damaged, and a Tesla workshop let the repair cost up to DKK 75,000.
Tesla refuses to take responsibility for the damages.
According to the Norwegian car association NAF, which investigated the case, the paintwork was unusually bloody and sensitive to stone chips and other impacts.
NAF's report describes the damage as more extensive than what can and must be expected on a three-week-old car.
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The damage included peeling on the bonnet, front door, both rear doors and the front bumper. "The paint is a lot of blood," writes the organization, which assessed the damage to be abnormal in relation to the car's age and mileage.
The Tesla owner, who previously owned a Volvo, explained in his complaint that he had used the same car wash for nine years without any problems.
After the incident, he contacted Tesla. But the car manufacturer did not believe that the damage was due to the paint quality. The car brand, on the other hand, believed that the Model Y owner had to pick a fight with the owner of the car wash.
The case was later brought before the Norwegian Consumer Complaints Board. And here the Model Y owner was right. Tesla bears responsibility for the unreasonably poor paint job.
The authority pointed out that the extent of the damage was not in line with what can be expected from normal use of a new car.
In its decision, the Consumer Complaints Board writes that Tesla must pay the owner DKK 75,000 in compensation. "It is a new car. The damage occurred only three weeks after delivery," the board's statement read, among other things.
When Norske Motor , which has covered the case, asked Tesla whether they would follow the board's decision or appeal it, the car manufacturer failed to comment. The Tesla owner has meanwhile expressed frustration at the unwillingness to resolve the matter outside of the authorities.
