Tesla has been the most popular electric vehicle manufacturer in the U.S. market, as it once again delivered the most EVs in 2022 than any other manufacturer.
The Austin, Texas, based EV maker delivered a record 405,278 vehicles in the three months ending Dec. 31, up 31.5% from the same quarter in 2021, and also set a record for annual deliveries with 1,313,851 delivered in 2022, which was a 40% increase over the previous year. However, analysts were predicting 1.33 million deliveries.
CEO Elon Musk has said that January orders were the strongest in the company's history and the company could deliver 2 million cars in 2023, but the company's forecast is actually 1.8 million for the year.
All this news sounds great for the company going forward, as long as EVs perform well on the streets, don't incur further significant recalls and government agencies don't find any problems during investigations, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looking into 30 crashes involving Tesla's automated driving system, 11 of which were fatal crashes that killed 15 people.
Tesla Has a Lot of Recalls
Tesla (TSLA) has also had a significant amount of vehicle recalls. In January, it recalled about 30,000 Model X cars for an airbag problem, and in November, the company recalled 321,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to a taillight problem and another 40,000 for a power steering problem. The company followed up that recall with two in China, as it recalled 80,000 cars for seatbelt and software issues and another 435,000 cars for a rear light problem.
Things didn't get any better in late January as a Tesla Model S traveling on eastbound US Highway 50 near Sacramento "spontaneously" caught fire on Jan. 28, which required fire personnel to drown the car's battery cells. They used 6,000 gallons of water to put the fire out because the batteries continued to combust despite so many gallons of water.
Tesla vehicle fires have been a problem in the past as 168 confirmed cases of fires in the EV maker's cars have been reported from October 2013 through Jan. 31, 2023, according to Tesla-Fire.com.
But the problems don't end there. A Twitter user on Monday shared a big problem with his newly delivered Tesla Model Y, and it's not the first time this problem has happened, InsideEVs reported.
Much to his surprise, @preneh24 reports that the steering wheel of his new Tesla Model Y came off while he and his family were traveling on the freeway, but no cars were behind him and he was able stop safely on the side of the road and call for a tow truck. The same thing happened to Tesla Model 3 owner in 2020 after driving his car about 340 miles after delivery, InsideEVs reported. The Tesla owner tweeted that the company charged him $103.96 for the repair of the car, which probably should have been covered under a warranty, but Tesla reportedly removed the charge.
Car Owner Wants to Return His Car for Refund
The car owner, however, asked that Tesla take back the car and give him a refund, according to a tweet.
"We lost trust in Tesla and would greatly appreciate this car be taken back and full refund be issued. I feel safety is more important than tech car," he wrote in the tweet.
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email request for comment for this story.
