Claim: Owner Locked Out of $140,000 Tesla Until He Replaces $26,000 Battery; “battery died after less than 75,000 miles”

By B.N. Frank

Due to increasing lithium prices, the cost for all electric vehicle (EV) batteries is going way up. In fact, a Tesla owner recently shared that it will cost him $26,000 to replace the battery in his vehicle.

From Techworm:

Tesla Owner Locked Out After Battery Died, Replacement Costs $26,000

By Kavita Iyer

A Canadian Tesla owner claims he was locked out of his $140,000 CAD vehicle after the battery on his electric car died. The electric automaker told him that he would have to pay $26,000 in order to replace his car’s battery.

Mario Zelaya, the owner of the 2013 Tesla Model S, who has a 34,000-strong following on the short video app, TikTok, posted a video with a caption that read, “$26K for a new battery. Locked out of car. Recalls are needed.”

In the video, he claimed his “piece of trash” Model S died and that the car is locked, stopping him from getting inside. The battery died after less than 75,000 miles were put on the Series S odometer.

Zelaya said he purchased the brand new vehicle in 2013 for $140,000 and got it serviced regularly. However, he explained that some models from 2013 and 2014 have issues with fluid from the air conditioning system leaking onto the battery causing it to rust and, eventually, damaging the batteries.

When Zelaya contacted another Tesla owner who had similar issues with the car battery, he said that the automaker canceled that owner’s Uber credits while the vehicle was being serviced.

“You’re probably thinking I’m full of crap, I’m making this stuff up. I’m not. I got Transport Canada involved and they actually did an investigation on the car,” he said.

“Not only did they do an investigation on this car, they’re gonna be doing one that Tesla doesn’t realize is coming up, because I got in touch with another owner who has the exact same problem. Tesla’s trying to sweep it under the rug. They won’t give them any explanation of why their battery died.”

He also claimed that the battery is not inspected when Tesla owners get their vehicles serviced, saying Tesla customers have no incentive to do so which is why it’s not done.

Zelaya admits that his automobile’s battery is a year outside his warranty period. If he wants to sell the car, he won’t be able to do so due to the fact that he is locked out and his ownership papers are inside the vehicle. He instead spent $30 to get new ownership documents, he claimed.

“I’ll never buy another Tesla again,” Zelaya said. “That’s the long way of me saying stay the f*** away from Teslas. They’re brutal cars, brutal manufacturing, and even worse, they’re a 10-year-old company.”

In another video posted this week, Zelaya said he sold the car to an interested buyer, who will be picking it up from his driveway. The alleged buyer is then seen removing the car’s front bumper and then subsequently charging the vehicle.

“That’s going to be the end of my Tesla journey. It’s out of my life. Keep it out of yours,” he said.

Tesla vehicles have also been and continue to be associated with numerous security (see 1, 2, 3) and safety issues, some of which have led to fatal accidents, lawsuits, recalls, and investigations (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). They have been associated with battery fires and fires that are difficult to extinguish as well (see 1, 2). Of course, battery fires and fires that are difficult to extinguish have also been reported with other company’s electric vehicles (EVs) (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Additionally, high levels of biologically and environmentally harmful radiation emissions have been reported in Teslas and other EVs (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Got pets? Radiation exposure from EVs (and other common sources) can affect them too.

Despite ongoing and increasing issues associated with EVs, EV mandates are being considered and/or introduced in at least 17 states and the Biden Administration recently approved the first $900M for building charging stations. In the meantime, Americans still “aren’t sold” on EVs due to high costs and other concerns.