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Redditor Alleges His New Tesla's Roof 'Fell Off On The Highway' (jalopnik.com) 93

Posted by EditorDavid from the Daddy-the-top-came-off dept.
The source for this story is a post on Reddit, which Jalopnik argues "was corroborated with this remarkable video of Tesla's new Instant, Unplanned Convertible feature." I know we've covered Tesla's chronic quality control issues here before, and I realize that among hardcore Tesla-stans this may feel like we're picking on Tesla unfairly but in our defense, Tesla really does have some terrible quality issues. Sometimes we get a really dramatic and baffling issue, like this one where the fucking roof flew off a brand-new Model Y while the car was being driven home.
"The Tesla service center in Dublin did not return a message seeking comment," reports the Verge, adding "A spokesperson for Tesla also did not respond." Leaving them with nothing but the Redditor's own story: Nathaniel Galicia Chien was driving down Interstate 580 with his parents in their brand-new Tesla Model Y when he started to hear a lot of wind. "I thought a window was open," Chien recalled in an email to The Verge, "but half a minute later the entire glass top of the roof just flew off in the wind."

Chien said the incident occurred hours after he and his parents picked up the new Model Y from the Tesla dealership in Dublin, California. Right off the bat, they noticed some minor "fit and finish" problems, such as "spacing issues and unevenness in the gaps that are pretty well-known issues with new Teslas." But they didn't expect any problems with the crossover's mammoth panoramic glass roof, and certainly not on the same day they drove it off the dealer's lot.

For years, Tesla has been plagued by quality issues, but it seems to have grown worse with the release of the Model Y in 2019. Just this past summer, Tesla scored last in a survey of customers by researcher JD Power. Owners have flocked to online forums to complain about paint and trim problems, indentations in the seats, and loose seatbelts. But an entire roof flying off on the highway is a new kind of problem for Tesla... Chien said Tesla's service representatives said that "either the seal on the roof was faulty, or they somehow just forgot to seal the roof on entirely."
"They gave us a free rental to use in the meantime and offered to get it serviced," the Redditor posted this week, "but we just opted to wait for a brand new one."
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Redditor Alleges His New Tesla's Roof 'Fell Off On The Highway' More

Redditor Alleges His New Tesla's Roof 'Fell Off On The Highway'

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  • Don't worry (Score:5, Funny)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @04:42PM (#60592622)

    It'll only be a few minutes before someone jumps in here and claims the kid was a short-seller.

  • clearly... (Score:5, Funny)

    by friesofdoom ( 3817155 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @04:53PM (#60592644)
    They were just holding it wrong...

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      They were just holding it wrong...

      You got the wrong asshole-lead company.

  • Someone forgot the window sealant? (Score:3)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @04:56PM (#60592654) Homepage
    Or did they go to a hardware store and buy some random caulk because they ran out of the production window sealant?

    'Hey we need more gum and duct tape.' -overheard Tesla factory worker.

    • My wild guess would be something happened in between putting on the bead and putting in the window and the adhesive dried too much.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Maybe, I mean they have been fitting hardware store plastic brackets to hold parts of the AC system in, so...

      Other reported issues with the Model Y are missing parts from the suspension system. Scary stuff.

  • Roof installer was paid by short sellers (Score:3, Funny)

    by m5shiv ( 877079 ) * on Saturday October 10, 2020 @04:57PM (#60592658) Homepage
    The roof guy was abducted by short selling aliens

  • Re (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rei ( 128717 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @04:59PM (#60592668) Homepage

    Yeah, he was asked for confirmation that he had even bought a Tesla, but claimed that the paperwork blew out the roof. And asked if he stopped, but said they didn't think to do so. *Shrug*.

    Anyway, assuming based on these 1995-Nokia-phone-quality photos that it's legit (I'm actually willing to take them at face value): as we know, manufacturing bugs only ever happen with Teslas. That's why Lemon Laws were created: cars from other brands were all flawless, every single one of them, with a zero-percent rate of manufacturing errors - but government psychics foresaw that a company called "Tesla" would come along, and despite the fact that it actually dominates all other brands in owner satisfaction surveys, would secretly actually be terrible, and everyone just lying about liking their cars which are actually terrible, and so new laws would be needed.

    For Tesla, not for anyone else, because as mentioned previously, other cars with their far-lower satisfaction ratings have a 0% rate of defects. As we all know, you can't go out there and just google "fell off" "new (brandname)" and get tons [google.com] of [google.com] hits [google.com] for any brand. Because surely if that were to happen, every news site would cover it....

    (Disturbingly the most common thing to fall off new cars seems to be wheels (bolts probably improperly torqued), although badges and spoilers also seem to be fairly common)

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by DamnOregonian ( 963763 )
      You know, it's a car manufacturer, not an identity.
      I'm sure you're not a paid shill, but you certainly come off as one. You defend them ravenously with absolutely no regard for facts. It's like watching someone defend their political party.

      Teslas have very real quality problems. [jdpower.com]
      I think they're great fucking cars. I loved driving my coworkers Model 3 Single Motor LR.
      Thinking that doesn't mean I also need to make shit up to defend their image from that big mean Reality monster.

      • I'm sure you're not a paid shill, but you certainly come off as one.

        He comes across as extremely knowledgeable about Teslas, nothing more.

        • No, to be knowledgeable the knowledge you give must be correct.
          When it is not, you're ignorant or malicious.
          In the ignorance category, there is willful and not.
          I believe Rei to be of the willful ignorant category.

      • Re:Re (Score:5, Insightful)

        by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @05:58PM (#60592786)

        You defend them ravenously with absolutely no regard for facts.

        I'm curious about your assertion here. As far as I can tell Rei is nothing more than a happy Tesla owner sharing the love, but "no regard for facts"? Let's look at this for a moment:

        a) Rei posted she's happy to take it at face value that it was real. (sounds perfectly happy with facts there).
        b) Posted that Lemon laws exist because Telsa isn't the only one who produces lemons (my best friend had a warranty claim 4 times within 3 months on his Ford, so he invoked the Australian lemon law for a full refund), so there's facts there. The lemon laws were not created for Telsa.
        c) Proceeded to post the fact that Tesla's satisfaction rating among buyers is the top of the industry. There's countless verification of this, including CR: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/1... [cnbc.com] who initially dissed the car.
        d) Then provided three actual links to examples of her claim that other cars experience things that fall off, looks like a great supporter of facts there.

        Does she come off a bit strong in support? Yep. Does it seem almost political? Yes, but more like a Biden supporter who uses factual and common sense based answers with links and citations, not like a raving Trump supporter you're accusing her of having.

        Tesla has quality control problems, that changes precisely none of the facts that Rei posted. I'm almost certain she's not a paid shill, but you with your attack, I'm less sure about.

        • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

          by DamnOregonian ( 963763 )
          Yes, but you left out the really damning lines.

          As we all know, you can't go out there and just google "fell off" "new (brandname)" and get tons [google.com] of [google.com] hits [google.com] for any brand. Because surely if that were to happen, every news site would cover it....

          This is an attempt at some kind of moral relativism, but with regard to vehicle quality.
          The *fact* is, that the reported defects per vehicle for Teslas is somewhere around 50% higher than the industry average, and is in fact the worst on the entire planet.
          Tesla will not allow JD Power to interview new purchasers, so JD Power has to track them down themselves, meaning even that terrible rating is in reality worse.

          What I see is someone who is caught dead-to-r

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 )

            This is an attempt at some kind of moral relativism, but with regard to vehicle quality.

            So? If Rei was arguing that Tesla is perfect, then moral relativism is a fallacious argument.

            But Rei was making the point that Tesla is being picked on unfairly. Moral relativism is a valid argument for that.

            • But Rei was making the point that Tesla is being picked on unfairly.

              That point was false, though.
              To say that it was being picked on unfairly, it would have to be like the vehicle fire situation, where Teslas actually have a far lower rate of electric fires than other cars.
              This *isn't* that. Their QC is notoriously terrible.
              I suspect it'll get better with time, but not as long as assholes try to pretend like the problem doesn't fucking exist, or is somehow anywhere near industry standard.

          • Yes, but you left out the really damning lines.

            Well we all now clearly know how small your attention span is and how little of my post you read before you replied.
            But yes I see your lovely strawmen, consider them ignored.

            • Nonsense. I'm pointing out what's wrong with a post, saying I don't give a shit about what she got right.
              You're pointing out what's right about a post, saying you don't give a shit about what she got wrong.

              That's not a strawman, you're just a fucking moron.

        • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

          by DamnOregonian ( 963763 )

          d) Then provided three actual links to examples of her claim that other cars experience things that fall off, looks like a great supporter of facts there.

          This is like Hitler pointing at John Wayne Gacy and saying "see? Lots of people become murderers.
          " I think you're in the same boat Rei is. You're defending something by muddying the waters.

          • This is like Hitler pointing at John Wayne Gacy and saying "see? Lots of people become murderers."

            That is unfair to Hitler. He may have given orders, but there is no evidence that he ever personally murdered anyone.

          • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

            by thegarbz ( 1787294 )

            This is like Hitler pointing at John Wayne Gacy and saying "see? Lots of people become murderers.
            " I think you're in the same boat Rei is. You're defending something by muddying the waters.

            There's muddying waters and there's providing counter examples. You jumped straight to equating Hitler to a murderer which is quite telling (are you a hater or short seller?) Because the correct example would be equating Hitler to Stalin and declaring "Hitler isn't the only monster".

            Does it come off as defensive to Telsa? Yep. However much like the schoolyard bully punching the kid while reassuring him that he's not the only person to get punched that day, in some cases absurdities need to be defended. A Te

            • You jumped straight to equating Hitler to a murderer which is quite telling (are you a hater or short seller?)

              I feel like you missed the point, and are just waving your ass cheeks in the wind, hoping the noise they make is intelligible. They're not.

              Because the correct example would be equating Hitler to Stalin and declaring "Hitler isn't the only monster".

              As I suspected.
              You missed the fucking point.
              That is *not* the correct analogy, because Hitler and Stalin are comparable monsters. Hitler and Gacy are not; just as the defect rate of Tesla vs. other manufacturers *is fucking not*, which is the entire point of all of this.

              Just like the absurdity of 2 years ago: "OMG a Tesla caught fire! HOW OUTRAGEOUS!!!11" Somehow the 171499 non Tesla cars to catch fire in 2018 didn't make the news.

              See, this is how it's easy to tell your steamy shit pile of a brain is wired to be defensive of your

        • You defend them ravenously with absolutely no regard for facts.

          I'm curious about your assertion here. As far as I can tell Rei is nothing more than a happy Tesla owner sharing the love, but "no regard for facts"? Let's look at this for a moment:

          It is suspicious that whenever Rei make mistakes, the mistakes invariably favors Tesla.

          Case in point, Rei tried to pass off some bad math to claim a Tesla Model 3 is only ~30% the cost to "fuel" compared to a Honda Accord (too bad Rei's bullshit was exposed and corrected by some anonymous coward). [slashdot.org]

          d) Then provided three actual links to examples of her claim that other cars experience things that fall off, looks like a great supporter of facts there.

          Are you fucking serious thegarbage?

          Rei posted three fucking google searches...a "link" is not a fucking google search you fucking moron..."Rei sucks cocks" returned more than 1 million hits.

          BTW thegarbz, aren't [slashdot.org]

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          I'm not the person you are replying to but I'd suggest Rei's take is a bit off.

          Tesla's high satisfaction rating is a lot like Apple's, i.e. not a sign of a quality product. After all people say they are satisfied with Apple's butterfly keyboards.

          While other cars do have manufacturing issues Tesla seems to have more severe ones more often. The roof coming off, parts missing from the suspension, really basic stuff that should have been found at the factory with an inspection and rattle test.

          The roof coming of

          • After all people say they are satisfied with Apple's butterfly keyboards.

            And? I'm satisfied with a Surface Pro. Having sent it back on a warranty claim doesn't change that. Why am I satisifed? Because I'm happy with the device and happy with how the company handled the exchange.

            QC issues happen. Satisfaction ends up as a combination of how much you like a product and how much you like the way the company is treating you. E.g. my father who had his Holden (GM) Astra for a year was very satisfied until the key cylinder broke a day after the warranty expired and he got a "sucks to

      • Remember the Tesla catching fire news stories. Every single Tesla fire, every single fire anywhere near anything Tesla related makes headline news in TV, in news papers. A gasoline car driven insanely spun out crashed into Tesla supercharger, setting it on fire. It was a "Tesla Fire" in news stories. We have 500 gasoline cars catching fire everyday. By the news coverage one would think Tesla cars are several times more prone to fire compared to gasoline cars, but in reality Tesla is several times less likel

      • You know, it's a car manufacturer, not an identity. I'm sure you're not a paid shill, but you certainly come off as one. You defend them ravenously with absolutely no regard for facts..

        It is kind of weird that the guy didn't take pictures. Wouldn't that be one of the first things you do? He's only got this weird Bigfoot-esque video from inside the car. I believe that it probably happened, but he sure doesn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer. He also called it "quality insurance". wtf?

        • The guy could be *totally* full of shit. No idea. Seems a bit conspiracy-theory-ish to me, but who cares.
          My point was that you can't compare Tesla to other car manufacturers trying to say "they all have problems"
          Tesla has 2 problems for every 1 problem that other manufacturers have. That's noteworthy.

    • You shouldn't have to take the phone video at face value. Don't Teslas have like 7 cameras, including a driver-facing one? *One* of those should have captured something.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ruddk ( 5153113 )

        Not unless they have connected a USB drive of some sort with a directory called teslacam(iirc).
        "Someone" had a drive ready in his pocket when he picked up his Tesla, but that someone is a bit weird.

    • Let me quote TFS for you, since you seem to have missed it:

      "Just this past summer, Tesla scored last in a survey of customers by researcher JD Power".

      Dead last. Worst quality. Which would mean below Daewoo, Kia, and Saab.

      • The JD Power survey was only for initial defects, and not for overall quality or customer satisfaction.

        My spouse has a Tesla. Yeah, it had some defects, and she drove to Fremont a couple of times to get them fixed.

        It is still the best car we have ever owned.

        • But that's not fucking relevant.
          This isn't about satisfaction.
          This is about defects.

          It could very well be the best car you've ever own by every metric that matters to you.
          But it still has twice as many manufacturing defects as the shittiest car you've ever bought.

          In a discussion of defects, when you have to bring up how well loved the car is, you're just showing people how desperate you are to defend its image.

          • Exactly. Satisfaction surveys are more about marketing and consumer sentiment. You can have the same car model from same factory and it will have different "satisfaction" metrics in different regions or countries. Obviously the car itself is but one factor in how people think or feel about it. People very likely enjoy the idea of owning a "green" electric vehicle seen as prestigious (Tesla), and that impacts "satisfaction".

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by inflex ( 123318 )

          Curious as to the methodology used for the JDPower surveys;

          First thing to mind is; Do all defects carry the same weight ( paint chip, leaky oil seal, faulty transmission ) ?
          Second to mind is; Is the level of defect inspection the same ( "It's a Tesla, I better check the whole car twice over", vs "I'll see how I go" ) ?

      • Consumer Reports has the polar opposite result in their survey.

        https://insideevs.com/features... [insideevs.com]

        I'd be interested to see what JD Power does differently to survey owners.

        Best,

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Rei ( 128717 )

          And Whatcar (unlike JD Power, not pay-for-play) put Model 3 as the most reliable electric car [whatcar.com] and the most reliable executive car [whatcar.com].

          Bloomberg's survey last fall found high levels [twimg.com] of satisfaction [twimg.com] with both initial and ongoing quality as well.

          • I don't recall the poster saying anything about its long-term reliability, or the satisfaction rates its consumers have.
            Do you?

            I'd love to see you argue a case in court.

            Judge: You stand accused of shooting someone, how do you plea?
            But your honor- his friends *love* him- and he always makes it home on time.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Rei ( 128717 )

              You do know what initial quality is, right?

              And if a roof falls off, that most definitely would be marks against reliability.

              Let's also all collectively forget that the Leaf was once recalled due to a defect which made it so the rear window could fall out while driving.

              • You do know what initial quality is, right?

                I do! I suspect you have no fucking clue though. I suspect you're going to try to limit it to some arbitrary list of problems that you feel support the image of your cult.

                And if a roof falls off, that most definitely would be marks against reliability.

                Except that "reliability" is a subjective measure, particularly if say, the defect in manufacturing was fixed by Tesla (which I imagine it would be)

                Let's also all collectively forget that the Leaf was once recalled due to a defect which made it so the rear window could fall out while driving.

                Nobody's forgetting shit. I'm just not impressed with your whataboutism.
                Tesla stands dead last in the rankings of defects per vehicle.
                Dead last.
                We're discussing that, not whatever arbitrary

        • See the subtitle in your link (Score:4, Interesting)

          by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @06:55PM (#60592908) Journal

          That's measuring two different things. Just like something can be both the heaviest and brightest. Someone can want to own a Tesla regardless of quality control issues.

          The bolded part in your link, just above the article itself, points out:

          "As Jake Fisher of Consumer Reports once told us, that does not mean Tesla had quality improvements though.
          that does not mean Tesla had quality improvements."

          For Tesla specifically, owners might feel satisfaction with their purchase because green. They might enjoy moving up a notch on distinctiveness / prestige vs the Honda they had before. Like a successful entertainer, fashion company, or Steve Jobs, Elon Musk has a knack for building a fan base, for getting some people to like the brand for reasons unrelated to objective facts. There are a lot of reasons to like a car other than quality control.

          What these two stats tell us is that Tesla owners are people who like Tesla, despite the obvious quality-control issues.

        • No, it does not. Satisfaction is not average defects per vehicle.
          I'd be interested to see where you learned to read.
      • Tesla also scores top in customer satisfaction. JDPower reports it has more problems reported per 100 cars than any other car.

        It means, the problems reported in Tesla are probably minor, Tesla owners are probably more picky, Tesla probably fixed these issues very quickly.

        A car not be simultaneously have top both satisfaction and problem count unless some combination of the three explanation is true.

        • > A car not be simultaneously have top both satisfaction and problem count unless some combination of the three explanation is true.

          There are a LOT of reasons to like (or dislike) a car other than quality control. People might like the "Autopilot" driver assist. They make like feeling like they're being green. They might like that it's simply not yet another Honda/Toyota. For the same reason people like any fashion brand, or a particular musician, or Apple, they might just *like* Tesla, unrelated to any

          • People who buy expensive cars are usually brand loyal and the car they buy is a statement they make and are usually happy about their purchase. "Look at me, ma! Driving an Audi!" works even if there are some issues with the car. Yes, what you say is true

            But there is also Tesla stretch, people who normally don't buy 50K+ cars, stretch their budgets and buy a Tesla. Like me, I had never paid more than 26K for a car, and thought no car is really worth more than 26K (2006 dollars). Then stretched the budget to

            • Such people are also driven more than usual to defend their purchase, due to the personal sacrifice it took.

            • > Such people are not used to very expensive cars and might have an unrealistic idea about what a 50K car should be and the quality of service should be. And be more picky than usual.

              Wouldn't that mean they would tend to say they are LESS satisfied with the purchase? Despite it not having many problems that needed repairs?

              The polls (and Elon Musk acknowledges these things) say that Tesla purchasers are HAPPY with the car (they like the driver assist "Auto Pilot", comfortable seats, whatever) despite the

              • But then again, I never understood football fans either.

                This is *precisely* what's going on here.
                The rampant fanboyism forces me to take the position of "attacking" Tesla (in their eyes) just to keep the conversation fucking honest.
                I fucking love Teslas. But lying about what something is because you love it just ensures that it'll *never* fucking get better.

                Football/politics. Everything is viewed this way now. It's some kind of cultural cancer.

        • Or Tesla owners really like koolaid, which is the most obvious answer when we're discussing this underneath a post by Rei.

      • JD Power's reliability ratings are useless. In their world, the roof blowing off the car at highway speed is ranked as the same kind of 'defect' as a dropped Bluetooth connection.

  • It is a feature (Score:5, Funny)

    by jovius ( 974690 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @05:02PM (#60592672)

    Thank you Tesla for shattering the glass ceilings everywhere.

  • Is this some kind of special feature one can purchase in a Tesla? A roof specifically for fucking? What about a fucking hood? Do they have those as well?

  • You idiot, glass is transparent .. your roof is still on there. Now get out of here.

  • Read it for yourself. Tesla has VERY high owner satisfaction numbers.

    https://www.auto123.com/en/new... [auto123.com]
    https://insideevs.com/features... [insideevs.com]

    Best,

  • Curious about this (Score:5, Informative)

    by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Saturday October 10, 2020 @07:51PM (#60593008)

    I have a Model Y for a couple of months now. It does have a manufacturing flaw; the "frunk" lid is slightly mis-aligned. You wouldn't see it unless you know what you were looking for, so I haven't made an issue of it with Tesla. I only mention this because some shrill actors in this threat will tend to assert that I think that Tesla is above all criticism. Which it isn't and I don't believe that.

    Regarding the roof, I have looked at it as closely as I can without actually disassembling something. It appears to be held in place the way most fixed-windows in cares are constructed, which is with a rubber combination flange/gasket. Basically the glass is suspended by rubber.

    This is similar to how a windshield is built but with an important difference. The back edge of the glass roof is not supported by metal. This is where the hatch back glass and the roof glass meet.

    This failure report makes me wonder if the glass roof somehow slid back. There is about 1cm of space to do so before it hits the hatchback glass. There must be some retention component that I can't see other than the rubber that keeps the roof from doing this. If this failure report is accurate then I would expect the root cause to be that the lateral retention mechanism was not manufactured properly, the glass slid back, and eventually road shocks lifted the front end of the glass enough for the wind to catch it.

    All car companies have issues like this now and then. If this is a true report I would expect them to do a real failure analysis and take corrective action so that there will be no similar incidents.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )

      I just think what would happen if this was a Ford, GM, or Chrysler product. It would be on the news. Look how terrible our American made cars are.
      Tesla seems to have perfect fairy dust still. They'd better fix things because once that fairy dust is gone, it's gone.

  • The robot assembler didn't notice that it ran out of adhesive. The robot made all of the movements, energized the adhesive dispenser - it worked perfectly, except for noticing that it didn't actually apply any adhesive. If nothing else the robot revolution is going to create QA jobs.

  • I don't see in the photos or the article : where the roof fell ? It could have fallen on someone, or on something owned by someone. That someone, and all potential someones in the state where this happened are the aggrieved party in this case.

    The owner of the car maybe supplied with a replacement, or a fix. But the people of the state, probably represented by Attorney General or such, need to take it up in courts.

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