Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has slashed a bill totaling $21,960 out of a goodwill gesture to replace a stalled battery in a Model S vehicle, South China Morning Post reported, citing an owner based in Hong Kong.
What Happened: Larry Campbell received the nearly $22,000 bill after Tesla said internal checks showed the five-year old electric vehicle had been through a flood that invalidated the warranty.
Campbell alleged that Tesla chose to “assume with no conclusive evidence” that the car was driven through a flood to refuse liability for replacing the failed battery under warranty.
The Model S owner said Tesla took three months to waive the bill and the EV manufacturer said it did so out of goodwill.
The Incident: Campbell said his wife was driving the car in a heavy afternoon rain on the day when the city was on the highest-level black rainstorm alert. The car was towed away by Tesla hours after it stalled.
The car was bought in September 2016 and came with an eight-year, 160,000km limited warranty on the high-voltage battery. The car had clocked about 130,000km when it stalled.
Campbell said there was no flooding in the area where the vehicle was being driven in the days before the breakdown, or anytime before, and the company did not show him its technician investigation report or explain how the seepage could have occurred.
A Tesla executive based in Hong Kong had later sent them photographs saying there were “substantial volumes of water” in the battery and battery pack, implying it was driven over deep water.
TSLA Price Action: Tesla shares were trading down 1.71% Friday morning at $906.40.
Photo courtesy of Tesla.
