Tesla facing lawsuit for allegedly painting over structural cracks

A Tesla owner in Germany has accused the company of painting over underbody cracks on their Model 3 electric sedan.

According to German publication Bild, the owner discovered cracks on the underbody while changing the tyres, before a Tesla service centre allegedly hid them with paint.

The case has reached the District Court of Munich, with an expert commissioned to examine the vehicle.

They reported that the car would not pass Germany’s rigorous TÜV, the country’s general vehicle safety inspection, meaning driving on public roads would be deemed unsafe and illegal.

However, the court is yet to determine if the damage is due to poor build quality or, potentially, the result of an accident.

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It is the second case to reach the same court in recent months, with another Tesla Model 3 owner discovering scratched, deformed and torn jacking points, allegedly caused by a robot at Tesla's Fremont plant.

Christoph Lindner, the lawyer representing the owner, said he received a note from Tesla stating "the factory process was improved on April 26, 2021", reports German outlet EFahrer.

According to the paper, Tesla told the owner the cracks were of a “cosmetic nature”; however, an independent expert certified damage to the floor assembly – again questioning if the vehicle would pass its next TÜV inspection, which is designed to keep older, unsafe cars off the road.

The regional court is yet to reach a final decision for either case and, if the court agrees with the owners, likely remedies are unclear – with buybacks or redeliveries possible for the affected vehicles.

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However, a more significant issue for Tesla could be the potential for additional lawsuits to surface on alleged build defects worldwide.

Tesla has not publicly responded to the claims, as the US-based company dissolved its public relations department in 2020.

The electric carmaker has previously faced trouble in Germany, with a Berlin court banning the use of the ‘Autopilot’ term to market semi-autonomous driving functions in 2020.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has admitted early versions of the Model 3 – produced in Fremont, California – were plagued with quality control issues during a video interview with Sandy Munro in early 2021.

Munro, an engineering and tear-down specialist, showed panel gaps on his personal Model 3, with Musk blaming production ramp-up during 2017-18 for the initial build concerns.

“It took us a while to iron out the process, especially during production ramp-up,” said Musk.

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“During that [time], it's super-hard to be in vertical climb mode and get everything right on all the little details. So if you really want things to be dialled, it's either very early cars or once production has levelled off. That's when things are going to be best.”

Tesla has opened up a factory in Shanghai, China, which produces examples of the Model 3 and Model Y for Australia, New Zealand, and most Asian and European countries.

A manufacturing plant in Brandenburg, Germany – known as Giga Berlin – officially commenced production in March, initially building the Model Y Performance electric SUV.