A frustrated Tesla owner locked out of his car due to a dead battery ridiculed the $26,000 replacement cost in a viral TikTok, adding to a wave of discontent among Tesla users.
Taking to his TikTok page last year, Mario Zelaya, from Canada, posted a video where he called his $140,000 Tesla a “piece of trash” as he showed that his vehicle had locked itself automatically after the battery had died.
In the video, which has now gone viral again and has been viewed a total of 18.7 million times, Mario revealed that his Tesla had no more power for the doors, and therefore, he could not get inside his car.
Taking to his TikTok page last year, Mario Zelaya, from Canada, posted a video where he revealed he was locked out of his Tesla
Image credits: supermariozelaya
Image credits: supermariozelaya
The driver revealed that he had bought the Tesla in 2013, and the models from that year have an issue where fluid leaks onto the battery
@supermariozelaya My opinion: Tesla shut down my car over the air because my videos after refusing to pay for a new battery. #tesla #car ♬ original sound – Mario ZelayaThe desperate driver captioned the video: “$26K for a new battery. Locked out of car. Recalls are needed.”
With the proof of ownership papers being stuck inside the car, Mario’s plan to sell the vehicle also went bust, leaving the poor fella in a more frustrated state.
Mario ended up lucking out after all, paying $30 to get a second copy of the ownership papers.
Mario was left with the option to pay “$26K for a new battery”
Image credits: Craig Adderley
Image credits: Andreas Rasmussen
The driver revealed that he had bought the Tesla in 2013, but the models from that year and 2014 have an issue where fluid leaks onto the battery, which can cause huge problems, as per Unilad.
Mario said: “I got Transport Canada involved, and they actually did an investigation on the car. Not only did they do an investigation on this car, they’re gonna be doing one that Tesla doesn’t realize is coming up.”
With the proof of ownership papers being stuck inside the car, Mario’s plan to sell the vehicle also went bust
Image credits: supermariozelaya
Image credits: supermariozelaya
The self-described serial entrepreneur admitted that he had been in contact with other Tesla owners who have experienced exactly the same problem.
He said: “Tesla’s trying to sweep it under the rug. They won’t give them any explanation of why their battery died.”
Mario further claimed that when Tesla owners get their vehicles serviced, the battery is not checked. Moreover, he claimed service centers have no incentive to do so.
Mario ended up lucking out after all, paying $30 to get a second copy of the ownership papers
Image credits: supermariozelaya
In a follow-up video, Mario accused Tesla of “sweeping” the problem “under the rug”
@supermariozelaya Replying to @Mario Zelaya Here’s an update and some clarifications on my dead 💩 Tesla. Also, someone is buying it tomorrow for $19K and is taking on the responsibility of opening up the car. I got 85 messages on FB Marketplace on it 😅. Guess I’m selling it for cheap? #tesla #car ♬ original sound – Mario Zelaya
Image credits: Milan Csizmadia
“I’ll never buy another Tesla again,” he exclaimed. Mario continued: “That’s the long way of me saying stay the f**k away from Teslas. They’re brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they’re a 10-year-old company.”
In a follow-up TikTok video, Mario revealed that he was fortunately able to sell the car and that someone was going to pick it up from his driveway.
He said: “That’s going to be the end of my Tesla journey. It’s out of my life. Keep it out of yours.”
Some Tesla owners have voiced concerns about the vehicle last year. A group of owners in Norway went on a hunger strike in August 2022 to get CEO Elon Musk’s attention about a long series of problems they claimed to have with their vehicles, Fox Business reported.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” a reader exclaimed
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