“Tesla’s trying to sweep it under the rug.”
A Tesla driver has been left fuming after being locked out of his car until he forks out $26,000 (£20,000) for a new battery.
Mario Zelaya shared his story on TikTok after his ‘piece of trash’ car was ‘completely dead’.
The 2013 plate vehicle is riddled with a fault that means liquid leaks onto the battery, which renders the car pretty much useless after it dies.
As the car does not have a traditional key like most older vehicles, it cannot be accessed by its owner until power is restored.
As Mario discovered, though, this costs a pretty penny – in his country Canada, Tesla charges $26,000 (£20,000) for a replacement battery.
“I’m not buying that, I’m not giving them another dime,” he explained.
As he wasn’t willing to spend so much money to fix the car, Mario decided to sell it.
@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 Zelaya
However, that wasn’t a simple task either, as his proof of ownership papers were also located within the vehicle.
Thankfully, he was able to obtain replacement papers for $30 (£23).
The motorist explained that he wasn’t the only one who had suffered the dead car fate, as he has been in contact with other Tesla owners whose vehicles had suffered the same fate.
“Tesla’s trying to sweep it under the rug,” he claimed. “They won’t give them any explanation of why their battery died.”
“I’ll never buy another Tesla again,” he added. “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.”
The TikToker revealed that he eventually managed to sell off his car, but the new owner was planning to dismantle it.
“That’s going to be the end of my Tesla journey. It’s out of my life. Keep it out of yours,” he concluded.
